Marathon of Morganders!
by SunSingularity
Summary: This is a series of one-shots, fluff and other random scenes that will be mostly focused on Greg and Morgan. Each new chapter will be a new story. If you have an idea for a one-shot that you want me to write, PM me or write a review with the idea included! I might be open to trying to include random chapters with other couples, but no slash. Some chapters rated M with warnings!
1. Nightmare

**Author's Note: This is a series of one-shots and short little scenes between Greg and Morgan to tide people over until September 27. Each chapter will be a new prompt/scene. If you have a suggestion or idea you want me to try to include as a chapter, you can review or PM me with the idea and I will try to include it here. These are all going to be Morganders, so I'm not inclined to include other couples, but if it's not slash, then I could perhaps attempt it. If you send me an idea and I use it, obviously I will give you credit!**

 **This first chapter is a prompt from the blog OTPPrompts on Tumblr. (For some reason, it won't let me link it.) Now, on with the show!**

Nightmare

Shadows concealed the majority of the room. Morgan spun around, a feeling of dread rising like bile from her stomach to her chest. What little light there was had a pale blue cast to it. She turned around and saw him, standing there. Matthew Tarland, her captor. She brought her hands up to her neck and found the collar.

"No!" She turned and found the chain from the collar attached to the wall just behind her. Matthew grinned, pointing his gun at her.

"Not so tough, now, are you?"

He sneered and brought the gun near her face. Morgan tried to punch him, but he dodged out of reach. He hit her with the gun and she cried out. The collar was suddenly gone and they were in front of the house. The sun blazed down upon them and they were wrestling in the dirt.

"Let…GO… OF ME!" She screamed, thrashing around and punching him. He hit back, grunting in anger and frustration. She grabbed for the gun, but he jammed it in her face. His hands reached for her, groping at her body.

"No…NO!" She cried out. "Arrggghh!"

Her eyes flew open. She was on the ground next to her bed, tangled in the sheets and blanket. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She covered her face with her hands and forced herself to take deep breaths to calm herself down. It didn't work.

Sobbing, she kicked at the blanket and her phone tumbled from the sheets to land in her lap. She scooped it up, her hands shaking wildly. Tears made it hard to see, but she unlocked the phone and dialed the first number that came to her head from memory.

She hesitated for a moment as her thumb hovered over the green button on the screen before pressing it. She shivered as she tried to shove the memory of Matthew Tarland's hands crawling over her, deep into the recesses of her memory. She put it on speaker, unable to hold it to her ear without dropping it. She collapsed into the blankets and let the phone fall to the carpet next to her.

"Morgan?" Greg's voice asked through the phone. He sounded groggy and she instantly felt bad for waking him.

"Greg…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called." She reached out to end the call when Greg's voice stopped her.

"What's wrong?" He suddenly sounded very awake. "Morgan? I could tell by your voice that you're upset."

"I'm just… I just…" The tears came back, she couldn't stop them. She curled up on her floor.

"Morgan what happened?" Greg asked. She could hear him moving around his room.

"I had a nightmare about Matthew Tarland. I was fighting him off and I just…" The dream had been so vivid it was as if she could feel it all again. She bit down on her lip so that Greg wouldn't hear the shakiness in her voice.

"Morgan… listen to me."

"Yes."

"Hold on, okay?"

"Okay." She squeezed her eyes shut to prevent more tears, but it didn't make the sense memory of Matthew Tarland go away. She couldn't hear anything on Greg's end of the phone and she got lost in her horrified thoughts for a few minutes before she rolled over to stare at her phone.

"Greg?" She called out. She didn't get a response, but the call hadn't been ended. She kicked the sheet and blanket completely away, untangling her legs from everything.

"Greg?" Still nothing. Feeling a sudden, cold emptiness in her chest, she ended the call and burst into tears. _Why did I call him, what was I thinking?_ She buried her face into the side of the mattress and let her emotions go, weeping uncontrollably. She didn't want to admit how much the whole incident with him, his brother and Ellie Brass had upset her. She'd talked to the department psychiatrist for several months afterwards, but then stopped going.

She felt as though she'd dealt with it all. It was sufficiently buried that she didn't have to deal with it on a daily basis and it was easy to get lost in the details of her work. There weren't very many people she felt as though she could call when she needed someone to lean on. _Why didn't he just stay on the line, just for a minute longer?_ She felt a wave of anger, but remembered that she hung up on him, not the other way around. Frustrated, she punched her bed and almost didn't hear her phone beep at her.

Pulling her face away from the bed, she looked over at it. It was a text from Greg.

 _Greg: Open your front door._

She frowned at the phone. Cautiously, she got up and stumbled through the living room of her apartment. It was the middle of the day, so she had all the blinds drawn and closed, the curtains pulled shut and all the fans going at full speed since she got hot when she slept during the day. She got to the front door and opened it, not sure what she would find.

She found Greg. He stood there, panting. She stared up at him in alarm.

"What…are you doing here?" She asked.

"I had to make sure you were okay." Greg said. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure…yes." She stepped back and let Greg in, shutting and locking the door behind him. She stood there, unsure what she should do.

She walked back to her bedroom in a daze and only to realize that Greg had silently followed her. When she got to her room, she frowned at it. Her bedding was all over the floor and so were her pillows. She stared down at herself; she'd forgotten that her pajamas were a pair of underwear and a large faded t-shirt with an AC/DC logo on it.

"Greg, you didn't… have to come here, I feel bad now." She said, wishing her room looked better; that she looked better.

"I wanted to come here. I had too. You sounded really upset and I needed to help." Greg said. Morgan turned to look at him. He was staring at her room, looking around at the mess. His eyes moved back to her.

"It's just…it was just a bad dream, I'm sorry for bothering you." Morgan said.

"If it was just a bad dream you wouldn't be this upset." Greg insisted. Morgan turned to protest, but when she looked up into Greg's eyes, and the worry in them, she couldn't contain her own emotions. Tears spilled onto her cheeks again.

"Why can't I just get past this?" She asked, sniffling. Greg put his hand on her shoulder and having him near seemed to open the floodgates. The tears came yet again and she buried her head into his shoulder. His arms wrapped around her, warm, strong and comforting. His hand moved up and down her back soothingly. She cried into his shirt, just like she'd done before when they were looking for the kidnapped baby boy.

Neither one of them said anything for a while. He let her cry and she clung to him for comfort. When the tears faded and she couldn't cry anymore, she sniffled and pulled away slightly to look up at Greg. She didn't even want to think about how horrible she looked without her makeup and messy bed hair and red rimmed eyes, puffy from her tears.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Greg murmured. She nodded.

"There are things….about my time in captivity that I didn't talk about. Things that I figured didn't matter a whole lot after Matthew died. I mean…I talked to the psychiatrist at PD about it, but I didn't want to broadcast it around." She said. He hadn't let go, and she was grateful for that.

"What kinds of things?"

"He attached a collar to my neck, with a chain on it, and it was locked onto a bed." She explained. Greg pulled her towards her own bed and she sat on the floor, using the side of the bed as a backrest. He sat next to her, their thighs touching.

"That's part of your nightmare?"

"Yes, and he's waving a gun around. I don't know why Ellie is never in the nightmares, she's the one who actually shot me."

"A dream about a guy waving a gun around wouldn't make you this upset." Greg said. Morgan looked up at Greg again.

"Well, it's the part where he…put his hands all over me that makes it bad. I can't completely fight him off because of the collar…" Her voice got quiet and she was surprised that no more tears came.

"He put his hands on you?" Greg asked, sounding very tense and upset. Morgan stared down at her legs.

"He didn't rape me. He…touched me." She said. "He would tell me how pretty I was, to pretty to be a cop, which is what he thought I was the whole time." She looked up to see a range of emotions moving over Greg's features. The one she saw most of was rage.

"Why didn't you say anything before now?"

"I didn't want to worry you or make you mad. Especially since he's long since dead and what else would anyone do about it?" Morgan said. "Nick told me about how you got into trouble when you rushed into the warehouse to see if I was in there, without backup and how Brass warned you to stay back when you guys got to that house."

Greg's face flushed slightly.

"I knew that if I told you, you would get mad. I just…sometimes the nightmares come back, for no reason at all, and they're so real that when I wake up, it's like I'm back there."

"If he was still alive, I'd kill him myself." Greg said. Morgan smiled sheepishly and leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Can…you stay with me? It feels better having you here." Morgan said. Greg put his arm around her and gave her a squeeze.

"Of course I can." He said, feeling a rush of jitters.

They got up and fixed the bed sheets, blanket and pillows. Morgan pulled her hair away from her face and climbed into bed. Greg sat on the bed next to her.

"If you don't want to, you don't have too, but could you…just lay here? For a while?" She took his hand and looked up at him.

"Of course I will." He said. He pulled off his shoes and socks and stretched out next to Morgan, who curled up next to him and rested her cheek on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Greg." She murmured quietly, her hand coming up to rest against his chest instinctively. He sat there and listened to her breathing slow until it became regular and deep. He closed his own eyes with a smile.

Turning his head slightly as he drifted off, he whispered, "Sweet dreams." He saw the smile grace her lips as sleep took him.


	2. Ink - Part I

**Ink**

 **A/N: This is an idea that I had on my own, didn't get it from anyone else. If it accidentally copies someone's idea, I'm sorry! BTW, Tessa and others in the shop are my own invention. Also, I realize no one really texts like this, but I couldn't make myself use abbreviations in the messages in the story. Now, more Morganders!**

Morgan finally got two days off of work. She'd been pulling doubles every other shift and it was getting to be a little too much. She spent the first day off lounging around, bingeing on Netflix, Hulu and sleeping. She didn't have any plans for her second day off, and was sitting on her couch drinking coffee when her phone beeped. She glanced down at it and saw a text from her friend Tessa.

 _Tessa: You want to hang out today? I hear you have a day off and we haven't seen each other in ages!_ Grinning, Morgan replied.

 _Morgan: Yeah! You want me to meet you at the shop?_

 _Tessa: Sure, I have an appointment at 11am. You can come and watch if you want, I'm sure the guy won't mind._

 _Morgan: Sounds like fun as long as the guy doesn't mind an audience._

 _Tessa: He seems cool, I'll ask him._

Morgan went to get ready, pulling on decent looking clothes and a little bit of makeup. Her phone beeped again.

 _Tessa: He's here, I'm prepping him now. He said he won't mind an audience. Come on over! Bring snacks!_

 _Morgan: Don't I always? I'll be there in a couple of minutes._

When she was finished getting ready, she left her apartment and ran by the store to grab some snacks for her and Tessa. After loading up on drinks, chips, and candy, she drove to the shop where Tessa worked as a tattoo artist. It was on the upper level of a strip center. She stuffed the snacks in her purse and went up to the shop.

"Morgan, hey!" Scott said at the counter. He was Tessa's brother. They worked together in the shop, along with Scott's boyfriend and several other artists that rotated in and out of the shop.

"Hey, is Tessa in the back at her station?"

"Sure is…did you bring snacks?"

"Of course!" She put the bag of goldfish crackers she'd purchased for Scott on the counter. He smiled.

"Yes! Andrew! There are goldfish crackers!" He yelled into the back. Andrew came running up and Morgan laughed. They waved her to the back, where Tessa's tattooing station was. Morgan and Tessa met when they were in elementary school. They'd grown up as best friends. When Morgan moved away when her parents got divorced, she and Tessa had done everything they could to stay in touch and reconnected as soon as she returned to Vegas.

Morgan walked down the hallway to the back room, where she saw Tessa. Her room was decorated with pictures of all her previous tattoos, other art she'd created and album covers behind glass. Her hair was black and worn short, just above her shoulders. She wore dark rimmed glasses and neon pink lipstick.

"Hey!" Tessa said with a grin. She and Morgan hugged before Morgan began to unload the snacks.

"Where's the guy?" Morgan asked.

"Oh, in the bathroom. You brought me Sour Patch Kids!" Tessa took a drink from the soda and ate a handful of the sour candies. They'd been her favorite when they were kids, too.

Morgan sat in the chaise on the opposite wall, where a small table sat piled with magazines. She arranged her snacks and got comfortable.

"So what are you doing today?" Morgan asked.

"Oh, a chest, shoulder and arm piece on this guy. It's really awesome. He gave me a general idea about what he wanted but said he wanted me to sketch some stuff out and kind of take it where I thought it should go. I always love the people that give me a little creative license. Anyway, I sketched some stuff out for him and showed him my ideas and we agreed on the one we thought would look good." Tessa pulled up the image on her laptop.

"It's huge!" Morgan said.

"Yeah, it starts on the chest and shoulder and works its way down the arm. We've been working on it for a while. I outlined all of it already and now I'm going through and shading it all in and getting the lines cleaned up. Actually, I think you'd really like this guy!"

Morgan chuckled. "What makes you say that?"

"You know me. C'mon! I set Andrew and Scott up and look at how well that turned out! I was probably a matchmaker in a previous life." Tessa said, popping more Sour Patch Kids into her mouth. Tessa had always been very good at setting people up with one another. All of the couples she'd introduced had gotten married. It was something Morgan found a little freaky, but interesting at the same time.

"Sure, I know you. Now tell me why you think we'd be good together!"

"First of all, he's hot. Not to say that's the most important thing about him, but just so you know. Second of all, he's intelligent and sweet. He's got a great sense of humor and rolls with the punches. When Scott hit on him during his first visit, he wasn't even embarrassed or angry. He took it as a compliment! Plus, he's all blonde and Nordic, so you would have adorable babies together." Tessa said.

Morgan giggled and ate some candy. "If he's so great, why don't you go out with him?" She asked.

"Because… as cute as he is, I just know that it wouldn't work. He and I hit it on the friendship level and once I got to know him, I just knew that I should introduce him to you. My matchmaking powers told me that it was _meant to be._ "

"So, this was all a ploy to get me to meet this guy?" Morgan asked, sitting up. Tessa grinned sheepishly and Morgan threw an M&M at her.

"No violent chocolate!" Tessa cried, throwing her hands up with a laugh.

"Where is he? He's taking an awful long time in the bathroom." Morgan said.

"Scott probably has a hold of him. Giving him snacks if you gave him goldfish!" Tessa said, disappearing to go find her client. Morgan got up and found the M&M she threw and picked it up, ready to toss it in the trash when she heard a familiar voice.

"Morgan?"

She looked up and her mouth fell open. "Greg?!"

~XXXXX~

"I can't believe you two already know each other. It's kismet, it is!" Tessa was blabbing excitedly as she pushed Greg into the chair. Morgan and Greg had stood there, staring at each other in stunned silence while Tessa filled the space with her enthusiastic exclamations about the coincidence. Greg was wearing jeans and a white undershirt with no sleeves. She could see the outline of the tattoo twisting its way down his right arm and ending just above his wrist.

Morgan sat in the chaise and stared at Greg's arm. He was more muscular than she assumed; but since she'd never seen him in anything less than what he wore to work, she supposed it wasn't that surprising that she didn't already know that.

Tessa sat in a chair and pulled out her tattoo gun, switching it on and dipping it in the ink.

"You're going to have to take your shirt off so I can get the part that's on your chest." She said. Greg complied with her request, removing his shirt to reveal his lean, muscled torso. Morgan felt her breath catch in her throat in surprise. Greg's eyes locked onto hers again and they stared at each other while Tessa continued to talk. She cleaned the area off and got started.

"So, Greg, while you were in the bathroom, I was telling Morgan how I thought you two would be perfect for one another. Legit, you would. I'm the queen when it comes to matchmaking and since your babies would be beautiful, I think…"

"Tessa!" Morgan exclaimed. Greg was grinning, leaning back in the chair. He broke eye contact with Morgan to look down at himself.

"What?" Tessa asked as she moved the tattoo gun over a spot on Greg's upper arm. "It's true! I believe I said you would have adorable babies. I'm mean, just look at the two of you. So cute together!" Tessa said with a grin. Morgan felt her face flush red.

"You know, that's not the first time someone's said that to us." Greg said. Tessa moved the gun up towards his chest.

"Really? Who else said it?"

"Her name is Donna, she's a genealogy expert. Morgan got a family crest for her dad a couple of years ago for Christmas and Donna helped. Anyway, Donna said she thought we were cute together." Greg said, eyeballing Morgan. Morgan smiled at him.

"Donna and I are on the same page. She's a wise woman, I tell you. Wise!" Tessa said.

"Okay. How about you explain the tattoo, hmm? What is it?" She asked.

"It's several different designs and interlocking symbols. Most of them are Norwegian, but there are a couple of science things embedded in there." Greg said, as Morgan got as close as she dared to examine the tattoo. Morgan sat there for several hours, watching Tessa add details and shading to Greg's tattoo. Tessa told Greg embarrassing stories about Morgan at his request.

"I swear, Sanders. You're going to get it if you repeat any of these to anyone, especially Hodges." Morgan said.

"You think I would do that?" Greg asked, feigning innocence. Morgan laughed and Tessa stopped working. She stretched.

"Time for a break, wouldn't you agree?" She asked. Greg and Morgan nodded. She put her tattoo gun away and stood up.

"I'm going to walk around a bit, you two can hang out…. _alone_ of course." Tessa said with a wink, stretching her arms over her head and walking from the room. Greg got up and stretched, too.

"What made you decide to get a tattoo in the first place?" Morgan asked. Greg stared down at it for a while.

"It's something I've wanted for a while, but I wanted the design to be right. I talked to a couple of other artists, but I couldn't really get behind the stuff they showed me. It wasn't until Tessa came along that I fell in love with a design." Greg said.

"That's amazing. I can't believe you choose the one tattoo artist in Vegas that was my childhood best friend. What are the odds?"

"Yeah, what are the odds? Hey… could you not say anything about this to people at work?" Greg asked. Surprised, she nodded.

"Why do you want to keep it a secret?"

"It's not really a secret, I just don't want everyone knowing about before it's finished. They'll ask to see it and I won't feel right showing it to them." Greg said. "Do you have a tattoo?" He asked.

Morgan smiled slowly.

"You do!" Greg said. Morgan nodded.

"See? I didn't know you had a tattoo. Can I see it?" Greg asked. Morgan looked around to see if she could see or hear Tessa coming.

"I could, except I would have to take off my shirt." She said.

Greg arched an eyebrow. "Okay…" He said.

"And my bra." Morgan confessed slowly.

Greg stared at her in surprise. "Oh."

"Do you still want to see it?" She couldn't keep the mischievous grin off of her face. Greg's eyes locked onto hers.

"Definitely."

 **A/N: This is part one. Soon, there will be a part two. :3**


	3. Ink - Part II

**Ink – Part II**

 **A/N: Here is the second part to the story, short but sweet. Also…. This is the reason for the M rating. I will always include a note about whether or not a specific chapter has any M material in it, so if you want to read the others, but not the M ones, then you can skip over those!**

Morgan grabbed Greg's hand and dragged him in the direction of the bathroom. The shop had a large family style restroom, which is where she took him. She locked the door.

"You can't tell anyone about my tattoo, either." Morgan said quietly.

"I won't." Greg replied. Morgan peeled her shirt off. Part of her tattoo was visible under her bra and Greg could see it right away. It looked like an intricate henna style tattoo design of a lotus flower on her sternum, but the design went up and disappeared behind her bra.

"Turn around."

Greg obediently turned around, trying to keep the idiotic smile off of his face. Morgan shifted around some more.

"You can turn back around."

Greg did so, unable to prevent his sharp intake of breath. Her skin was so beautiful, smooth and soft looking. She covered her breasts with her hands, revealing the tattoo as it went halfway up her sternum and down and halfway around her torso.

"It's beautiful. It suits you." Greg said. He wanted so desperately to touch it and found himself getting unconsciously closer to Morgan.

Sensing his desire, she said, "You can touch it if you want." Greg stared at her for a long, silent moment. She could see it in his eyes; he couldn't hold himself back. He put his hand on her chest, right in the center. He could feel her heart pounding away right there.

"Morgan?" His voice had gone slightly hoarse.

"Yes?"

"I'm not sorry for what I'm about to do." He said. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed her against the wall, covering her mouth with his. She dropped her hands and wrapped them around Greg eagerly. They moved against one another with soft gasps and moans. Morgan felt his hands tug at her pants.

"Do you…want too?" Greg paused to look into her eyes.

"God, yes!" She said. Greg laughed quietly as she kicked off her shoes. He tugged her pants and underwear off and she wiggled out of them. She grabbed his pants and pulled them down to his knees. He lifted her into his arms, pressing her back against the tile wall of the bathroom as he pushed himself into her. The feeling of his taut muscles against her skin made everything sensitive. Morgan curled around him in ecstasy, digging her nails into his hair as they worked in rhythm. She threw her head back as his mouth came down onto her neck, nibbling at the sensitive skin behind her ear. They climaxed in unison as Morgan slumped slightly, allowing Greg to hold up her weight.

They stood there for a moment, staring at one another.

"Uh, I'm betting Tessa is wondering where we are." Morgan whispered.

"Let her wonder…" He mumbled, taking her face into his hands and kissing her.

"Hmmm…while I would love to stay here with you, like this, I'm sure she would like to finish the work you came for." Morgan mumbled against his mouth, not really wanting him to pull away.

"Yeah." Greg said slowly. They rested their foreheads against one another.

"Does this mean Tessa will continue her 100% matchmaking success rate?" Morgan whispered.

"How about I take you out for dinner and we talk about it?"

Morgan smiled. "It's a date."


	4. Phobia

**A/N: This one is an idea that I got from OTP Prompts on Tumblr, submitted by a user called indecentpause on August 2, 2015. From now on, if I get a prompt from someone else, I'll post the actual text of the submission and the user who submitted it and the date of the submission, if that information is posted/available. I had to do this one after I saw Morgan's reaction to the tarantula in the second to the last episode of season 15. More Morganders! :3**

 _ **Prompt: A spider falls down Person A's shirt. Person A is terrified and runs around wildly. Person B runs after Person A trying to help them.**_

Phobia

Morgan hated crime scenes like this. The house was old, creaky and drafty. Clearly no one had cared for it in years, the windows were boarded up and the paint was peeling off, like the skin of a snake that no longer fit. Some of the windows that hadn't been boarded up were broken. Dirt, trash and debris was scattered across the floor.

Sleeping bags were spread around the room, where homeless people had camped out during a cold winter night. Graffiti decorated the walls, layered on top of old graffiti. A demolition of the house was planned, and when the crew had come through to make sure no one was inside, they found the body.

David had already taken it away to the Coroner's office, and Greg helped Morgan process the scene. Morgan moved to a corner of the room with a broken window, near where the body was found. She photographed and collected trace from the area.

"Found a broken beer bottle with blood on it. Can't tell if it's from our crime or not, so I guess it gets bagged." Greg said ruefully, showing Morgan the sharp edges of the bottle. She made a face at it. Greg put the bottle in an evidence bag and put it on the table they brought in for the other evidence. They were almost done processing the scene and she was eager to get out of the building; the whole thing gave off this unsettling creepy vibe.

Morgan leaned over to look at something when she felt something brush against the side of her face. She waved it away and bent to collect the trace, when Greg stopped her.

"Uh, Morgan?"

"Hmm?" She felt something tickle her neck and she glanced up at Greg. He pointed at her chest.

"You…"

"Sanders, are you staring at my boobs?" She asked, trying not to laugh. Greg's mouth opened in surprise.

"I…no, but…" He stammered.

She glanced down but saw nothing. "What is it, then?"

"A…spider. I just saw a spider crawl into your shirt." Greg said.

Morgan glared at him. "Greg! This better not be your way of making a joke… you know how I feel about spiders!"

"I'm serious! I'm not kidding, it's in there, right now." Greg said, walking towards her. Morgan pulled her shirt away from her chest and peered down, just to prove him wrong, and saw it.

A large, black furry spider sat off to the side near her boob, just under her shirt. Fear boiled to the surface.

"Oh…MY GOD. Get it OFF OF ME!" She wailed, racing to the back door of the house.

"Morgan! MORGAN!" Greg yelled. Morgan dropped her flashlight and ran, forgetting her kit and anything else still in the house. Greg ran after her.

"Stop, Morgan, let me help!"

"EWWWWW!" Morgan shrieked as she raced for the door, darting around debris on the floor. She pushed the door open and ran down the stairs to the backyard, which was surrounded by huge overgrown hedges that blocked other yards and houses from view.

"Get it off, get it off, get it off! Omigod, I hate SPIDERS!" Morgan panicked, racing around the yard in desperation. She peeled her jacket off and tossed it to the ground carelessly.

"Morgan, wait…" She heard Greg call. He jogged over to her and she froze, still feeling the spider there.

"Greg, it's still there! I'm going to die if this thing isn't removed. I swear!"

"You aren't going to die."

"Yes. I am. I am so close to death right now. I hate spiders….they have too many legs. I hate centipedes and millipedes too. ARRGHH!" She waved her arms around at him in a panic. He tried to grab them to hold her still, but her response was to dart away and peel her shirt off, tossing it to the ground with her jacket.

"I can't touch it, I can't. It's furry. Just get it." She wailed at him. Greg was distracted by the fact that Morgan was now standing in the backyard wearing nothing but a lacy red bra.

"Uhhh, hold still." Greg said, moving closer. The spider hadn't moved. It sat there, frozen to the spot. Greg peeled his gloves off and shoved them in his pocket. He leaned forward and cupped his hand over the spider.

"Hurry up, I can feel its creepy little legs." Morgan gasped. Greg removed the spider and tossed it into a nearby hedge. Morgan sagged with relief.

"Thank you!" She threw her arms around him in a hug and Greg instinctively wrapped his arms around her.

"Morgan?! Morgan?!"

Confused, Morgan pulled away from Greg slightly, keeping her arms around his shoulders to look up at him. Who was calling her?

"Morgan? What… What are you two _doing_?" They turned to see Ecklie and Officer Mitchell standing in the backyard, staring at the two of them. Officer Mitchell was smirking slightly and Ecklie was frowning, his arms folded across his chest.

"Uh-oh."

~XXXXX~

Morgan and Greg took all the evidence back to the lab. Morgan had put her shirt and jacket back on and they rode together in silence.

"You…don't really think your dad is mad at me, right?" Greg asked as they pulled into the crime lab's parking lot.

"No! I mean, I don't think he is." Morgan said. They sat in the Denali for a moment, the engine still running.

"I don't think he believed me when I told him I was just trying to get a spider out of your shirt." Greg said, with a slow smile. Morgan couldn't help the smile that spread over her face. It was funny, now that she wasn't terrified of the spider.

"No, I don't think he believed me either." Morgan said with a sigh. Ecklie had yelled at them to stop fooling around on the job. They tried to explain what happened, but he waved them away and left without really listening. Officer Mitchell listened to their story skeptically. He'd said he believed them, but neither one of them really knew if he was being honest or just saying that to placate them both.

"You know, I guess it isn't that surprising that your dad jumped to that conclusion." Greg said quietly. Morgan turned to Greg in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

Greg turned to look at her. "Did anyone tell you about what happened when you were in that hijacked helicopter?" He asked. Morgan shook her head.

"When we found out Samantha had played us, that she was with the gang and she was trying to set her dad up as revenge, I…had an outburst." Greg admitted.

Morgan grinned slightly. "What kind of outburst?"

"I…well, your dad pulled me aside and talked to me afterwards. In private. I sort of stormed down the hallway and called her a bitch and tried to punch her. Your dad and another officer had to hold on to me and I almost broke free of them. I tried. She didn't react, she said he deserved what her dad got and I got so mad that I kicked a chair at her and they had to drag me out." Greg confessed. Morgan's mouth fell open in surprise.

"You…what? You're like the most put together person I know. I've never even heard you raise your voice in anger at anyone before!" Morgan said.

Greg flushed slightly. "There's more than that. When you were kidnapped, I got into trouble again. Nick and I tracked the car to a storage facility where the exchange was made. When I saw the broken window of the SUV and the blood, I got upset. I followed the blood trail into the storage facility without backup. I found the other girl, posed like the 5th circle of hell. She looked so much like you that I froze up and couldn't do anything."

Morgan sat there, listening in surprise. Greg had never told her any of this! No one else had told her, either.

"Greg…how come I'm only just hearing about this?" Morgan asked.

"I don't know. When we finally found you at that house, Brass warned me to not jump ahead of him and the officers. Over the radio, where everyone else could hear." Greg said, tilting his head back.

"Greg…I had no idea!" Morgan reached out and put her hand on his arm. He looked down at it and then up at her.

"I just…don't like it when you're in danger or you might get hurt. I'll always protect you…if I'm in a position too." Greg said firmly. Morgan smiled and hugged him again, her face ending up on his shoulder.

"Thank you." She said softly. They heard tapping on the window and Morgan pulled away. Ecklie stood there, staring at them.

"Geez." Morgan muttered. Ecklie jerked his thumb back at the crime lab as if to say, 'Get a move on it' and sauntered off.

"He's never going to believe us now, is he?" Morgan asked.

Greg started to laugh.

"Hey! Why are you laughing?"

"Nothing, let's go inside." He said.

~XXXXX~

After putting their evidence in the layout room, Greg and Morgan went to check on the DNA from the glass bottle they gave to Henry for processing.

"Doesn't Hodges have all those plants to process for Sara's case?" Morgan asked Greg, who nodded.

"So why is he hanging out with Henry?" They entered the lab and Henry and Hodges immediately stopped talking and looked at the two of them, their eyes shifting around.

"Okay, you were talking about us. Spill it!" Morgan commanded, pointing at Henry, who shrugged helplessly.

"It was Hodges! He was talking, I was listening." Henry said. Hodges shot him a glare.

"You heard the woman. Spill it." Greg said.

Hodges sighed when Henry stared at him expectantly. "So there's a rumor going around that you two got distracted while processing the scene and Officer Mitchell and _Ecklie_ caught you making out in the back yard of the house." Hodges said.

Greg and Morgan stared at Hodges in shock.

"Making out?" Greg said.

"Yep. So, you making it official, then?" Hodges asked. Greg and Morgan exchanged a glance.

"First of all, I hugged him. There is a big difference between making out and hugging." Morgan said.

"Why would I lie?" Hodges demanded. Morgan huffed at him.

"This, you see, is what making out looks like." Morgan said. She turned to Greg, took his face in her hands, pulled him close and pressed her mouth against his. Greg stood there awkwardly for two seconds before wrapping his arms around Morgan and returning the kiss. Morgan pulled away and smiled at him.

"Ahem."

They turned to look at noise. Ecklie and Russell stood in the doorway, staring at the both of them.

"Oh my God." Greg muttered. Morgan covered her face.

"We need to talk in my office." Ecklie said. Morgan looked over at Greg, who shrugged. Ecklie disappeared and they followed him. Russell stayed behind to talk to Henry and Hodges. They walked through the lab towards Ecklie's lab office, which was separate from his main office at the police department.

"What are we going to tell him?" Greg asked Morgan.

"That we're dating, no big deal, right?" She replied. Greg stopped.

"We are?"

"Yes. Why do you think I planted that kiss on you, silly?" She took his hand in hers and smiled. Greg laughed.

"So…how do you think your dad will take it?" Greg asked.

"He can take it however he wants as long as you say yes. You do want to go out with me….as more than friends, right?" Morgan asked.

"You don't even need to ask me twice." Greg said, leaning over to kiss her again. They paused in the hall, arms going around one another again.

"Really?"

They both looked up to find Ecklie staring at the two of them again, exasperation on his face. Greg and Morgan shared a sheepish grin as they held hands and went to admit to Ecklie what he'd already figured out on his own.

"See…spiders aren't all bad." Greg hissed. Morgan gave his hand a squeeze.


	5. Heavy Lifting

**A/N: This is going to be adapted from a prompt I got from the blog called OTPDisaster on Tumblr. The prompt was posted quite a while ago, dated Jan. 15, 2015. This is a NSFW prompt. This chapter will be rated M so skip it if you don't like that! Onward…**

 **Prompt: Your OTP doing a harmless activity behind closed doors, (baking, arts+crafts, working out}. Somehow the two manage to make it sound like hardcore sex to Person C who is standing right outside.**

Heavy Lifting

Their latest case involved a murder at a popular fitness spa, so Greg and Morgan had to collect almost all of the weights in the spa to test for blood and trace. Since there were so many different kinds of weights and equipment, and the layout room wasn't big enough, Russell told them to use the storage room near the trace lab.

Unfortunately, the officers who'd helped them clear the scene of all the weights and equipment simply unloaded all of the boxes into the storage room haphazardly, not taking care about where they put anything. Greg and Morgan stared at the massive piles of boxes and evidence cluttered around the room.

"This is stupid." Morgan said.

"Yeah, well. We better start digging through it all and organizing everything." Greg said with a sigh.

Morgan followed him into the room and closed the door behind them, to prevent others from coming in to disturb or interrupt the process of unpacking it all and organizing it. It would take long enough as it was without Hodges or someone coming by to demand to know what was going on.

"Where do we even start?" Morgan asked.

"The heaviest boxes first, I guess." Greg said, pointing at a particularly heavy looking one in the corner. Empty shelves lined the room. The storage room hadn't been used in a while, but thankfully it was clean. Morgan and Greg bent to pick the box up together, grunting and gasping as they did so. They pushed the box onto a shelf until it hit the wall with a thump. After a few minutes, they worked in a rhythm to get more boxes lined up, by type and size, across the room.

"God!" Morgan grunted as they pushed another box onto a shelf. She sighed.

"Just wait, there's more." Greg said, using his head to indicate the other boxes around the room.

~XXXXX~

What they didn't realize, was that Hodges had stopped working in the trace lab and was carefully listening near the wall. He frowned as he listed to the rhythmic thumps in the storage room next door. He shook his head in irritation. _How can those stupid interns get away with having sex in a closet?_

"Hey, Hodges, what…uhh…are you doing?" Hodges waved at Henry to be quiet. Henry approached him slowly and listened to the thumping himself. His eyebrows flew up.

"Can you believe those interns?" Hodges hissed as they listened.

"It's not interns." Henry said.

"What?" Hodges demanded, turning to stare at him.

"The interns are doing something for Russell. They aren't in there." Henry hissed.

"Well, then who is?" Hodges hissed back.

Henry looked hesitant. Hodges pointed a finger at him. "You can't hold out on me! You saw who went in there, didn't you? Who?" A particularly loud thump rattled the glass front cabinets on the wall and a moan came from someone in the room. Henry's face flushed.

"Tell me, man!" Hodges insisted, giving him a shake.

"Okay, okay…it was Greg and Morgan!" He replied. Hodges froze in stunned silence. More rhythmic thumping came from next door.

"Hey Hodges have you seen….Henry…" Nick asked, striding into the room to find the both of them looking tense.

"Shhh!" Hodges hissed. Nick paused to stare at the two of them, he was about to ask them what was going on, when Henry pointed at the wall. Nick silently listened to the thumping going on next door.

"Whoa, who's doing the dirty next door?" Nick asked with a smirk.

"Uhhh…."Henry trailed off quietly.

"Greg and Morgan!" Hodges whispered. Nick's eyes went wide and his mouth fell open.

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, I saw them go in there." Henry said. Suddenly a really loud thump, followed by Morgan's voice.

"Greeeeeegggg!" She called out, long and drawn out. They all stared at each other in amazement.

"Wow, I gotta hand it to him. I always thought he and Morgan would be a thing, one way or another. Never thought she was the type to do it at work in a storage room, but whatever…." Nick said. "I'll…be back later." He chuckled as he left the room. The thumping stopped.

"Oh my god, I can't believe that happened." Hodges said to Henry.

"I don't want to be part of this gossip, so…bye." Henry tried to hurry off, but Hodges grabbed him by the arm.

"Hey! Don't you think we should tell them?"

"Tell them? Tell them what, that we heard them having sex in the storage room? What good would that do?" Henry demanded. Hodges shushed him.

"Just…let me think." Hodges insisted.

~XXXXX~

Greg went to get Morgan first aid after she dropped a weight on her foot. When he came back, he could hear Hodges and Henry talking in the trace lab.

"Tell them? Tell them what, that we heard them having sex in the storage room? What good would that do?" Henry's voice demanded. Hodges made a shushing noise at him before saying, "Just…let me think."

Greg quickly went back into the storage room and closed the door behind him, making sure to lock it.

"Oh, thanks!" Morgan said as he handed her the band aid. She took off her shoe and applied it to her toe. Greg stood there, thinking.

"Is something wrong?" Morgan asked, seeing the look on his face.

"Uhh... so I accidentally overheard a conversation between Hodges and Henry when I was coming back in here." Greg whispered.

"So?" Morgan whispered back, confused about why Greg had lowered his voice.

"So…they thought we were having sex in here. Both of them. Hodges could have already told others and we wouldn't even know about it." Greg hissed.

Morgan's eyes narrowed and she jumped up from her seated position on the floor. "I ought to strangle Hodges…!" She started towards the door, but Greg grabbed her by the shoulders and pressed a finger to his lips.

"They're still in the lab, listening in." He whispered. Morgan stopped. A slow, mischievous grin crept over her face.

"Perhaps we should give them an earful then." Morgan said. Greg grinned slowly. They went into the space between shelves, which had enough room for the both of them to stand.

"Okay, now make the most orgasmic noises you can." Greg hissed at Morgan, who nodded.

"You won't get uncomfortable, will you?" She asked.

"No…I listen to my upstairs neighbors have orgies all the time." Greg said, deadpan. This made Morgan instantly curious about Greg's neighbors, but that would have to wait for another time.

"Ready?" Morgan whispered.

"Yep!" Greg used a weight to make thumping noises against the wall and Morgan timed her gasps and moans to match the thumps. Greg slowly moved faster, picking up speed with his thumps. Morgan started moaning his name in ecstasy.

"Greg, oh yes… oh God!" She groaned passionately against the wall. Greg made a couple of his own growling noises. The more noises they made, though, made Greg realize that Morgan's fake orgasms turned him on.

"Uhh…. Greg! Harder!" She yelled. Greg made his thumps louder and more insistent. Morgan locked eyes with Greg. They were both smiling, knowing the looks on Henry and Hodges' face would be priceless.

"You know…"Greg whispered as they kept making rhythmic thumps on the wall with weights, "If they think we're having sex in here, what will happen afterwards?"

Morgan hadn't really thought about it that way. If Henry and Hodges thought they were having sex, then they would probably blab to everyone…at least, Hodges would. There was no way to know who he'd already told and whether or not that person would tell someone else. What if it got back to her dad?

She let out a cry of joy as if she were climaxing, ending with a soft moan. Greg stopped the fake thumping and they stared at each other, thinking about the consequences of what they'd done.

"Everyone will think we had sex in here." Morgan said. "Even if we say we were only pretending to freak out Hodges and Henry. I doubt anyone would believe us."

"Yeah, that's what I'm thinking." Greg said. He put the weights down. Morgan put hers down next to his.

"So…" Greg said, trailing off. They were silent for a moment when the solution suddenly came to her.

"What if we did?" Morgan asked.

"Huh?"

"What if we did have sex in here?" Morgan said. Greg stared at her for a long moment of silence.

"You mean…you want to have sex in here…with me. Right now?" Greg asked.

"Yes. Only if you want to. I mean, everyone's going to think it happened anyway, so why not actually enjoy the thing we've supposedly done already?" Morgan said. "I mean, if you want too."

"Are you kidding me? Of course I want too. All that fake moaning turned me on." Greg blurted, his ears turning red briefly. Morgan smiled.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Morgan asked. They stared at each other silently for the longest time.

"We're doing this." Greg said.

"Yes." Morgan whispered. Greg licked his lips. He moved closer to Morgan and she backed up into the wall where they'd been making the fake noises. He put both hands on either side of her face, tilting her face up and bringing his mouth down onto hers in a passionate kiss. Morgan moaned against his mouth as their tongues explored each other. She pressed her hips into his groin and he growled in pleasure.

She unbuttoned his shirt frantically, peeling it off of him. He tugged her shirt up and over her head. Both were thrown carelessly away. Her hands explored his back as she dug her nails into the scars there. He unhooked her bra and pulled it away from her, tossing it somewhere behind him. He paused to admire the view and a small smile spread over Morgan's lips. They both kicked their shoes off and she unbuttoned his pants and tugged them off in two tries. Greg pulled her underwear off and flung it somewhere behind him. She tugged his boxers away and nothing came between them.

She clung to him in surprise when he suddenly moved away from the wall and set her on the empty table. He studied her body and somehow, the look on his face made her feel like she was the most beautiful woman in existence. He kissed her mouth and then slowly moved his way down her neck, breasts, abdomen, hips and finally, her sex.

"Greg! Ohhhhhhh…..!" She gasped when he reached the end of the kissing trail. She arched up against him, writhing with pleasure. She thought she was going to orgasm right there, but he drew away from her at the last minute, leaving her gasping.

She sat up and wrapped her legs around him. He moved her back to the wall as she shook with pleasure. Morgan leaned forward and nibbled his ear. Greg groaned and grabbed her hips, lifting her up and shoving her against the wall. He shoved himself inside of her roughly and she cried out in pleasure. Morgan gasped and moaned as he moved inside of her. She threw her head back and cried out in a frenzy when Greg sank his teeth into the curve of her neck.

"Greg! Oh GOD!" She didn't care how loud she was. "Please, GOD." Greg forced her head to the side and made sure to leave his bite marks in places her hair would cover. They worked together in a rough, passionate rhythm until they both climaxed with moans of pleasure. Morgan collapsed in Greg's arms, her head still tilted back.

"I…honestly, you're the best sex I've ever had." Morgan breathed into his ear.

"Hmmm, you're the best I've had, too. Geez, why did we wait so long to do that?" Greg asked.

"I don't know. We're sadists." Morgan offered. Greg laughed. They pulled away from one another and he slowly set her on the ground. For a while, all they could do was stand there and stare at one another.

Greg turned around to find his shirt and Morgan saw them; the burn scars that slashed across his back like huge claw marks tearing through the muscle there. She gasped. Greg turned to see what caused the reaction and saw where her eyes went.

"What happened?" Morgan whispered.

"Lab explosion back in 2003, when I was still doing what Henry does." Greg said.

"What caused it?"

"Catherine. It was an accident. She put a jar of something under a fume hood in my lab to identify later. It was next to a hot plate that got switched on by accident and it caused the explosion. You know that big window on the left side of the door to the DNA lab?"

"Yeah."

"I was launched through that window and landed in the middle of the hallway." Greg said quietly. Morgan's mouth fell open.

"Hodges was there. I mean, he wasn't in the lab at the time, he was in the building. He didn't have any injuries, but I remember seeing him standing by the curb when they wheeled me out on the stretcher." Greg said. Morgan lifted her hand and then paused.

"It's a miracle you weren't hurt worse. I…guess you didn't mind when I clawed your back?" Morgan asked. Greg smiled.

"It doesn't hurt or anything, so no, I didn't mind… and yes, it was a miracle. I turned away from the fume hood at the last moment, right before the explosion." He leaned over and kissed her again. Morgan traced her finger along the scar before leaning forward to kiss it. Greg smiled at her.

"We should probably get dressed." Greg whispered.

"Right." They ran around the room, finding each other's clothes and putting them back on.

Greg made sure Morgan's hair looked normal and she made sure his did as well. Once they were satisfied that the both of them looked as though nothing inappropriate had occurred between them, they decided to exit the storage room. All the evidence had been catalogued and organized.

When they opened the door, Hodges, Henry and Nick were standing in the hallway just to the right. The three of them stopped talking as soon as they saw Greg and Morgan.

"Hey guys." Morgan said casually, walking by. She couldn't contain the grin that spread itself across her face of its own free will. Nick, Hodges and Henry said nothing, just stared after her.

"Something wrong?" Greg asked, stopping in front of them.

"No, of course not." Hodges said quickly. Henry kept his mouth clamped shut and shook his head frantically. Greg looked at Nick, who smiled at him.

"So, we catalogued the evidence in the storage room from that fitness spa. All those weights have been put on the shelves and organized by size, weight and type. Morgan and I put the heavier ones on the bottom shelves, but she dropped a couple on her toe, so don't mention it to her because I think it'll make her mad." Greg said. The three of them nodded and he smiled, walking away. They must've thought he was out of earshot, because he heard Hodges.

"They're just going to act like they didn't have sex in there! What do we do?"

"Keep your nose in your own business?" Nick offered.

Greg smirked as he caught up with Morgan, who discreetly took his hand in hers.

"Want to go out for drinks later?" She asked.

"I'll update my status again." Greg said, wiggling his eyebrows at her.


	6. Catcalled

**A/N: This is a story based on a prompt from the Tumblr blog OTP Disaster. It was posted Aug. 5, 2015. This prompt is NOT rated M, but there will be some language in it, so keep that in mind. If you are offended by the use of swearing and physical violence, perhaps you should skip this chapter. So, on with the story!**

 **Prompt: How does Person B react to Person A getting catcalled while walking down the street?**

Catcalled

Greg and Morgan had pulled up into the area near the alley where they would be searching for additional evidence. They left their kits in the locked Denali until they would know that they needed them, since they needed to do an initial sweep of the area. Each one of them had their flashlights.

"Do you want to search the alley separately or together?" Greg asked.

"Together is fine. It's not that big of an alley and having two sets of eyes on everything might be helpful." Morgan said. They started their search, shining their lights into the nooks and crannies of the alley. For about ten minutes, they were silent as they moved in unison up the alleyway towards the connecting street ahead of them.

So far, they weren't finding anything pertinent to their case, which was frustrating.

"You know, it's been a couple of days. Stuff can get picked up by random passerby, or get thrown into a dumpster." Greg said. Morgan was about to respond when she heard a whistle from the other end of the alley; the side they were approaching. Greg and Morgan looked up at the same time.

"Hey girl, look at you…." A cluster of men were at the end of the alley and Morgan could see their leers from where she stood. Immediately feeling embarrassed, she turned away from them and walked back towards the other end of the alley.

"Where you going? We just want to talk!" A guy shouted. They laughed and she could hear a beer bottle fall to the ground. She turned to look at Greg, who was staring at the men, an angry look on his face.

"Greg, don't say anything to them, please?" Morgan pleaded.

"Why not? If you don't stand up to creeps like that, they think it's okay to keep doing it." He said.

"Yeah, but what if I see them again some time later and you aren't with me? It'll be worse. If you get mad and respond, they interpret that as interest. Even if you're telling them to fuck off." She hissed.

Greg looked like he was about to respond when they called out again.

"Look at that nice little ass you got. You want to have some fun? I'll show you some fun!" They whistled and laughed again. One of them made kissy noises at her and another started making noises that sounded a lot like two people having sex. Morgan felt her own face get hot with embarrassment as she watched rage flit over Greg's features.

"I'm not going to stand here and let them treat you that way." He said. Morgan was torn between not wanting to give the men down the alley more attention and wanting to kick them all in the balls. She felt a warm rush of pleasure that Greg wanted to come to her defense, but part of her was mad that she even had to stand there and contemplate how she should respond to this whole thing.

Greg had already made his way down the alley towards the guys. Morgan stood frozen to the spot, unable to think through everything quickly enough to choose what she wanted to do.

"Hey! You know that never works, right? She's not interested in you because you're all a bunch of jerks!" Greg called out.

"Whoa…she's got a boyfriend to defend her honor! How cute." The one making kissy noises said.

"Cute? How would you like it if someone did that to your sister or your _mother_? Would it be cute then? Fucking disgusting is what it is." Greg said. Morgan watched as he came within several yards of the three men. He was outnumbered, what did he think he was going to do?

"Oh yeah, what are you going to do about it? You the political correctness police?" One of them challenged.

"No, I'm the real police." Greg said. Morgan watched as he got close enough for them to see his vest.

"So is she. In fact, I'm sure her father, who is also with the police, would be glad to know about the type of interest you've expressed in his daughter. Also, you're loitering in a public area with alcohol, which violates city code. Perhaps we should call some backup and see what they think of this." Greg said calmly.

"You ain't no cop. You don't even have a uniform on." They all laughed at him. One of the men broke one of his beer bottles against a dumpster and aimed it at Greg.

"You a cop? Prove it!" Morgan gasped and ran forward when the guy swiped at Greg with the jagged edge of the bottle. She saw it make contact with his arm and she knew he'd been cut, but he didn't make any noise.

"Oh, you need your woman to come fight your battles for you?" The guy with the bottle taunted. Greg didn't turn around to look at her. Instead, he pulled his gun and aimed it at the man's face. The grins immediately disappeared and they backed up.

"Get your hands in the air where we can see them. Morgan, radio for backup, would you?" Greg asked. Morgan pulled out her radio and made the call, describing the three men.

"Get down on your knees." Greg said to the one who'd swiped him with the bottle. The man had dropped the bottle on the ground and his hands were up.

"No way, man! I got rights, I don't have to get on my knees if I don't want to. It's a free country and I feel like standing."

"Get down on your KNEES!" Greg snarled. The guy glared at him. The other two complied, getting on their knees and keeping their hands up.

"Dude, just do it, man. We're already in trouble." One of the guys behind him said.

"No, he's in trouble. We didn't do nothing. We didn't swipe that guy with the bottle, they'll just get us for loitering or whatever." The other guy said.

The guy who refused to get on his knees charged at Greg, swinging a fist at him. Morgan watched as the whole thing seemed to play out in slow motion before her eyes. Greg moved his gun sideways, back towards the holster as the man's fist connected with Greg's shoulder. It was probably aimed somewhere else, but his movement at the last moment changed it.

Greg stumbled back. His gun was back in the holster and he brought up his fist, connecting with the man's temple.

"Greg, don't!" Morgan cried out. It was too late, they were in a fist fight. Greg and the man punched each other viciously. The other men got up and started to run, but they were stupid enough to run right at Morgan, who pulled her gun.

"Not so fast, smart asses. Turn around and put your hands behind you." They both complied and she handcuffed one and zip tied the other.

"Stay there." She commanded, making them sit on the ground. They did as they were told. She watched the fight from across the alley. Greg punched the guy directly in the face. Morgan heard the horrible noise his fist made when it connected with its target and the man screamed. Blood exploded from his face, dribbling on the ground.

Greg pulled his gun back out and aimed it at the man, who was now standing there, clutching his face in his hands.

"Now. Put your hands behind your back." Greg said. He had blood running down the side of his face. Morgan could hear sirens approaching. The bloodied man put his hands behind him and Greg cuffed him, holstering his gun. Greg pulled him over towards the other men and had them all get up and put their heads on the wall.

Officer Mitchell and Ecklie arrived.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Morgan asked.

"I heard you make the call, I just wanted to make sure you were okay." He said. Ecklie looked over at Greg.

"What happened to you?"

"An altercation with him." Greg said, pointing at the bloody man that Officer Mitchell was putting into his squad car after he'd given him a thorough pat down and read him his rights.

"Looks a like a lot more than just an altercation, Sanders." Ecklie said with a grimace.

"He was coming to my defense and the guy attacked him with a broken glass bottle. It ended in a fist fight, which is better than a gun fight if you ask me." Morgan said.

"Your defense?" Ecklie looked from one to the other expectantly. Greg looked at Morgan, who sighed.

"We were here looking for evidence regarding a case when those guys started catcalling me. I wanted to ignore it, but Greg confronted them and that guy," she pointed at the bloodied man in the squad car, "took it too far."

"Well, just in case, you should go to the hospital and see if you need stitches, Sanders. Try not to punch anymore catcallers, even if they deserve it, hmm?" Ecklie said. Greg nodded.

"I'll take him." Morgan offered. Greg got into the Denali and Morgan drove them to Palm Springs Hospital.

"I appreciate the fact that you came to my defense, Greg, but I think this whole thing could have been avoided if we'd just ignored them." Morgan said.

"I'm sorry for going after them when you told me not too. I just…I was so mad! As a guy, I don't understand the idea of catcalling. If they're trying to get you to pay attention and hang out with them, then it's a horrible idea. I just don't understand the rationale behind it, why men do it." Greg said.

Morgan nodded. It wasn't as though she'd never been catcalled before, usually when she was alone or with another girl. Most of the time if she was with a man, it never seemed to be a problem. She could count on one hand the number of times she'd been catcalled in the presence of another man she was hanging out with or spending time with.

She remembered one particularly terrifying time when she was in high school. She was walking home late, alone. She'd been hanging out with some of her friends that her mom and step-father didn't approve of and wanted to sneak back home before getting caught. She was sixteen at the time and didn't have her own car, and the walk wasn't that far, she'd rationalized.

She was three blocks from her house and it was close to midnight. She wasn't naïve about the things that happened late at night to girls in Los Angeles; she had a Taser and pepper spray on her just in case. Not the crappy pepper spray either, the kind cops used. She was on the sidewalk when she heard a noise behind her. She'd turned to see a two men, probably in their twenties or thirties.

As soon as she looked back at them, they started making comments. First it was just stupid stuff to get her attention. When they realized she was going to ignore them, they got mad and started calling her a whore, bitch and slut.

She reached into her purse and clutched her Taser, ready to use it when she needed too. Then the other one started describing all the things he wanted to do to her and that's when she got scared. She heard their pace quicken as they got closer.

She turned and used the Taser on one without warning. He went down right away. The other backed away and left his friend, racing back down the street without another word. She'd pulled the prongs from him and ran all the way back to her house. She didn't stay to see if the man was okay; he'd simply gone down and not gotten back up.

"What are you thinking about?" Greg asked as the nurse led him into the triage area where he would get stitches on his head.

"Just…something I did when I was younger." Morgan said.

"Like what?" The nurse cleaned the wound on his head. Morgan decided to tell him the story about the two men following her home from her friend's house when she was sixteen. She repeated all of the things they said to her.

The female nurse stitching up Greg turned to listen.

"That's happened to me, too. On the strip, of course. Creepy tourists think all Vegas girls are just a piece of ass waiting to be picked up." She shook her head in anger.

"What did you do?" Greg asked.

"I tased him and ran." Morgan said. "He almost had me, I heard him get closer and I felt his hand on my back and I didn't know what else to do."

Greg exhaled, his mouth turned down in anger. "I don't regret it, then. If another guy catcalls you, and I'm there, I'll call him out. Make him regret it right away."

The nurse finished up the stitches and gave Greg a pat. "Maybe next time she can use her Taser on them." She said with a smile. Greg got up and they walked back to the Denali.

"If you don't want me to say anything next time, or if you want to do it, then I won't say anything." Greg said to her as the climbed back into the car. She leaned over and gave him the gentlest of kisses on the temple, near where his stitches were.

"Thank you." The smile on Greg's face banished the fearful memories of the past.


	7. Fans

**A/N: This isn't from a specific prompt, but I've seen the general idea floated around on multiple OTP blogs on Tumblr, so I'm not sure who to credit, but the general idea is that Person A and B find out that they both like the same fandom/show one night and obsess over it until everyone around them in generally annoyed. *This is NOT a rated M chapter.* For the sake of ease, the fandom I'm going to have them obsess over is Law & Order SVU & Rookie Blue since I'm familiar enough with those shows to have them talk about it. (If you haven't seen either of them, you should!) **

Fans

"I can't believe we're caught up with our cases. We're never caught up with cases." Morgan said to Greg in the break room over coffee. Greg had his feet propped up on the arm of the sofa and was leaning back in the chair as far as it would go.

"It's probably a miracle…don't say we're caught up to loudly, otherwise Russell will appear with an assignment for us." Greg said quietly, sipping his coffee. He shared his Blue Hawaiian with Morgan on the condition that she didn't tell anyone he was letting her have some.

"I don't want everyone else begging me for coffee." He'd said. Morgan quickly agreed and now they could relax without having to worry about paperwork and evidence. As they sat together in companionable silence, sipping coffee, Morgan thought about what is was like working the graveyard shift. She loved her co-workers, sure, but none of her other friends ever understood how different it was compared to working during the day.

"Do you ever find yourself annoyed by the fact that you work at night and sleep in the day time?" Morgan asked Greg.

He turned to look at her. "Not anymore. I'm so used to it, I think I would feel weird going back to working during the day and sleeping at night." He said.

"Yeah, but what about things like your favorite television shows? Isn't it annoying to talk to friends who like the same show, but they've seen the latest episode before you because it comes on at night while we work? My friends have to talk in code so they don't spoil it for me." Morgan said.

Greg nodded. "Yeah, that's annoying, but that's what DVR is for."

"Still, it would be nice to not have to wait a day or two to talk to them about it. What about you, what shows do you like?" Morgan asked. "Maybe we like the same ones and then we can talk about them without our lame dayshift friends ruining it."

Greg laughed. "Oh, my favorite shows…I mean, I watch a couple of shows. I like Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, but I'm kind of really obsessed with Law & Order: SVU."

Morgan gasped and slammed the coffee down on the table in front of her. "Me too! I LOVE that show!"

"Really?" Greg asked eagerly, taking his feet from the sofa to face her directly.

"Oh my gosh, yes. Can we talk about Elliot Stabler, please? I'm still so mad that he's not on the show anymore, half the time I can barely make myself watch it. I wish they'd bring Christopher Meloni back." Morgan said.

"I know, right? I mean, the whole show was Elliot and Liv. Their chemistry is just…perfect. I ship it." Greg said. Morgan squealed with delight and clapped her hands.

"I ship it too! I knew you were perfect, Greg!" She raced around the table and threw her arms around him in a hug, making him chuckle with amusement as he returned the hug.

"I feel bad for shipping it sometimes, though. Elliot's wife was nice and all, and all his kids were cool, but when they had them temporarily split up I thought it would be the perfect time for him and Olivia to get together." Greg admitted. Morgan sat next to him and pulled her coffee across the table.

"I know what you mean. That episode where Liv and Kathy are in the car accident and Kathy goes into labor? The whole thing was so sweet, but I felt bad for Olivia. You could tell that she wanted the relationship, but she was too awesome to break him and his wife up." Morgan said.

"Yeah, that's why I like her character though. She's tough but honorable. She has this code that she lives by and I admire her for it." Greg said.

"Yes!" Morgan agreed. "You know, Elliot used to make me so mad, with his blustering around. When they separated them and put Liv in the computer crimes division, you could see how lost he was without her. They're perfect. How many times have they had eye sex?" Morgan demanded. Greg almost spit out his coffee.

"What, have you never heard that term before?" Morgan asked. Greg wiped the coffee from his chin.

"I've heard it…I just wasn't expecting it right then."

"Well? How many times have Elliot and Olivia had eye sex? Too many! Don't you just hate it when it's so obvious that two characters are attracted to each other and they want to and they're constantly eye sexing each other, but they just never act on it? Or worse, the writers try to explain it away?" Morgan wondered.

"Yeah, it's a bit contrived. I mean, real life people would probably act on their desires, but in the case of SVU I find the tension between them believable because Elliot is a devout Catholic. He might want to act on his desires but he's written in a way that would prevent him from doing it. I think he did love her and didn't want to admit it because of his marriage. He wouldn't have cheated on Kathy and Olivia wouldn't have let him. Remember when they were looking for those kidnapped kids and the guy slashed at Liv's throat? It was season seven, right?" Greg asked.

"Yes! And Elliot was all terrified for her and the sound of his voice when he said her name….argh!" Morgan said, gripping her coffee tightly.

"You know…. I'd probably do the same if that happened to you." Greg admitted. Morgan blinked in surprise and looked up at him.

"What?"

"If some guy came at you with a knife and slashed at you, I'd flip out." Greg said. Morgan felt her cheeks flush and she secretly felt a rush of pleasure.

"You would?"

"Of course I would! After making sure you were okay, I'd hunt the bastard down." Greg said. Morgan hugged him again.

"You're sweet." Greg smiled.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Sara asked, sitting at the table.

"Greg and I were obsessing over Law & Order: SVU. Do you watch the show?" Morgan asked her.

"No, I watch Rookie Blue. Have you seen it?"

"No." Morgan said.

"I have!" Greg said enthusiastically. "Who are you favorite characters?"

"I love Gail Peck, she's perfect." Sara said. Morgan was suddenly feeling left out.

"I like Dov Epstein. Sometimes he reminds me of myself." Greg said.

"Them together, though! I mean, not romantically, but as friends, they're perfect." Sara said with a laugh. "I love how Oliver gave them a ship name, Peckstein." Greg and Sara giggled.

"You know, Gail and Dov remind me a bit of me and you." Sara said to Greg, who agreed.

"What if we were a television show?" Morgan asked. They stopped talking and looked at each other.

"Who would ship who? What would the names be?" Morgan continued. They looked at each other. Sara held her hands up, as if in surrender.

"I'm not good at stuff like that." She said. Her phone beeped and she pulled it out to check it.

"Ahh, my DNA results are ready….sorry to jump in and then leave, but you know how it is…" Sara said with smile. She left them alone once again.

"I think people would ship Sara with Grissom, even though they're divorced." Greg said. Morgan nodded slowly.

"What about Finn and Nick?" She asked. They thought about it for a while.

"I don't know…they work well together, but Finn's a flirt and Nick seems like a one-girl-at-a-time type guy." Greg said. "I have no idea who else."

"Wendy and Hodges!" Morgan said. Greg nodded and they started brainstorming ship names for those two.

"Wedges?" Morgan asked. Greg laughed and she swatted him on the arm with a smile.

"Dandy!" Morgan said. Greg shrugged.

"What about us? I mean…we could have a ship name!" Morgan squealed excitedly. Greg laughed.

"Let's think of one."

"Yeah, okay….uhhh should we combine our last names or first names?" Greg took another sip of coffee.

"Greg and Morgan….Gorgan?"

"That sounds like some weird dragon monster from Lord of the Rings." Morgan said. Greg laughed again and Morgan smiled slowly.

"Sanders and Brody…Branders? Sandy!" She said. "We could be Sandy!"

"That sounds kind of funny though. We're sandy?" Greg asked, shrugging. "What if we combined one of our first names with one of our last names?"

"Greg…Brody…" Morgan said out loud.

"So I'm taking your last name, huh? That's very progressive of me." Greg smiled smugly.

"Oh, you…. Oh. My. God. I know what our ship name is. It's perfect. We have the perfect ship name!" Morgan said, grabbing his arm.

"What?"

"Grody!"

Greg laughed and Morgan nodded. "A 90s reference?" Greg asked.

"Why not? I think it fits. We're both weird and we were young in the 90s and it's funny, like _us_." Morgan said.

"Maybe, but let's see if something sticks with Morgan Sanders." Greg said. Morgan tilted her head back.

"That sounds good together, actually. Morgan Sanders. I guess we could get married and my name would still be good." She said. She didn't see Greg's small smile of happiness at that pronouncement.

"Sangan? No. Morganders? I kind of like that." Morgan said.

"I like Grody better." Greg said.

"Yeah, me too." Morgan agreed. Russell appeared in the doorway.

"What are you two up too?"

"Nothing, we're all caught up." Morgan said.

"Good, because you have a case. Double homicide at the Eclipse." He handed them the information. They got up and put their empty coffee cups in the sink.

"Okay, we're on it." Greg said. They left the break room to get their things.

"Keep up the good work, GRODY!" He yelled after them and they both stopped in the hallway.

"He called us by our ship name!" Morgan exclaimed as they walked towards the locker rooms to get their gear.

"That means everyone's going to call us by our ship name." Greg said. Morgan smiled at him.

"I like having a ship name with you."

"Now let's just keep the ship sailing, all right?" Greg said.

"Yes, sir, Captain!" Morgan said, saluting him as they went on their next case.


	8. Bath Time

**A/N: This is a prompt adapted from the blog OTP Prompts on Tumblr. A user that goes by udobures submitted it to the OTP Prompts blog and it was posted Aug. 6, 2015. This particular chapter** **will** **be rated M.**

 **Prompt: Imagine A and B sharing a bath. And person B is being flustered as heck cause they never shared a bath with anyone before. Person A comforts them, holding them close and such. And maybe they eventually had fluffy sex.**

Bath Time

Morgan carefully lit the remaining candles, making sure to position them away from the edge of the tub. Once they were organized properly, she ran the bath water. She plugged the drain and added a mixture of bubble bath, scented oil and bath salts. When the tub was filled with enough water, she shut the tap off and went to turn off the lights. She'd pulled her hair up and off of her neck and was ready for a nice, relaxing bath.

She went to turn on her wireless speaker so that she could play relaxing music, when Greg came strolling into the bathroom.

"Oh… I was going to take a shower." He said, looking around at everything. He was still wearing his clothes from work.

"I'm taking a bath." Morgan said. "You could… take a bath with me, if you want."

Greg smiled slowly. They'd made the decision to move in together only a couple of months previous. They decided to look for a new apartment together rather than have one person move into the other person's place, because they agreed that having be a joint decision was best for the both of them. The process had been shockingly easy for the both of them. They fell in love with the same place and immediately went for it.

That was two weeks ago. They were still unpacking some of their things and hadn't quite gotten used to living in the same place with one another yet. Neither one of them had, had to live with another person in years.

"Sure, I guess." Greg said.

"You guess?"

"Well, it's just… I've never shared a bath with anyone before. Heck, I haven't taken a bath since I was about seven." Greg said. Morgan was wearing her favorite bath robe. She wrapped her arms around Greg's waist and looked up at him.

"There's a first time for everything, isn't there? Don't you want to be naked and soapy with me in the tub?" She smiled innocently.

"That's like asking me if I want ice cream. I _always_ want that. The soap is just the cherry on top." Greg said.

"Well, then take off your clothes and get in with me." Morgan said. "I'll wait for you." She turned on the music and set the speaker off to the side near the sink. One of the reasons Morgan liked the apartment they chose was because the master bathroom was large and in an area with a large walk-in closet.

Greg had gone into the closet and was taking his clothes off and Morgan could hear him thumping around in there. She knew he probably wasn't bothering to hang anything up, he'd just toss it on the floor. She smiled.

She had already pulled out the towels and piled them by the tub, so she disrobed and slipped into the water. The tub was equipped with jets and she turned them on briefly to make the bubbles foam up even more, churning the bath oil and salts around in the water. She turned them off when Greg walked out of the closet towards her.

He was in his boxers and she smiled up at him.

"The water's nice and warm and as long as you don't mind smelling like roses, I'm betting you'll like it…" Morgan said.

"Just…don't watch me get in. It's awkward." He said.

Morgan chuckled. "Okay." She covered her face with her hands. A moment later, she felt Greg's legs in the water with her. She kept her eyes covered until she heard him sink into the water.

"You can open your eyes now." He said.

Morgan did and tried not to giggle. Greg looked uncomfortable in the tub.

"Relax, c'mon! Here, look…" She grabbed some of the bath oil and poured a little in her hands. "I can give you a massage!"

"Okay." They spent a good several minutes maneuvering around the tub until Greg's back was facing her. She'd gotten used to his scars, but she always felt a little pang of sadness when she saw them. She rubbed the oil on his back and used her knuckles and thumbs to massage his muscles.

"Okay….I'll admit, this is nice. Why don't guys take bubble baths more often?" Greg asked as she worked on a knot near his shoulder.

"Good question, I don't know. You know what else you can do in a bubble bath?" Morgan asked.

"What?" Greg asked, turning to look at her.

"Naughty things." Morgan said suggestively, wiggling her eyebrows at him. She moved her hands below the water, brushing her fingertips against him. He smiled.

"So that's why girls like them then." Greg said. "I always figured that's why bubble baths were seen as a girl thing."

"They can be a couple thing." Morgan said, moving closer to Greg. He reached out to her underwater and grabbed her hips. He pulled her closer, so that she was sitting on his lap. She draped her arms over his shoulders and held on to him.

"Can it now?" Greg asked.

"Yes." Morgan mumbled against his mouth as she kissed him. His arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her even closer. He pulled away, but they left their foreheads and noses touching one another.

"You have such wonderful eyes." Morgan said to Greg. "That was the first thing I ever noticed about you."

"Really? What did you think of me?"

"I knew you were kind, I could tell by your eyes. I could tell you were an honest, genuine person." Morgan said. "I was surprised by how you looked."

"Really?" Greg kissed her again.

"Mmmhmm." Morgan agreed. "I was expecting someone older, but then Nick said you were the one that helped with the history and I remembered your voice and I was surprised."

"Why, what does my voice remind you of?"

"Something about it… it reminds me of those guys on hypnosis and meditation recordings." Morgan said. Greg chuckled.

"So you're saying I could hypnotize you, huh? Perhaps convince you to cluck like a chicken every time I snap my fingers?" Greg asked.

"You could easily convince me to do things much more adventurous than that." Morgan said. They kissed again. As they kissed, the warm bathwater, combined with their body heat and close proximity and the candles made everything even hotter. Greg moved his hands over Morgan, going for the spots he knew drove her wild.

She let out a soft moan into his mouth and he grinned. She reached under the water and grabbed him.

"This is your first time having sex during a bath, right?" Morgan asked.

"Yes." Greg admitted.

"Good, I'm glad I get to be the first." She positioned herself on top of him and moved to connect the two of them together. She moved in rhythm with the music now playing on the speaker, slowly and deliberately. Greg found it difficult to move around without sliding on the bottom of the tub, so Morgan ended up controlling most of their movements. She ran her fingers through his hair and held onto his head as she kissed him.

She moved up and down against him and moved to kiss his neck and shoulder. Greg wrapped his arms around her and they worked slowly together until Greg felt himself about to climax. Morgan's movements gently sped up and she moaned his name with her head thrown back into the air with Greg's mouth against her breast. They climaxed together and she slumped against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

They were silent for a moment before Morgan lifted her head to look at Greg. He was smiling, leaning back into the tub.

"So, you like baths, don't you?"

"Yes, I think baths might be a new favorite thing of mine." Greg agreed. The water was starting to cool off by the point.

"But not by myself. I'd have to have someone else with me. You know, to help. In case I can't remember how to do it correctly." Greg said innocently and Morgan gave him a kiss.

"I'll always be here to help you remember." She affirmed. She unplugged the drain and they sat there until all the water had disappeared from the tub.

"How do we get up without falling?" Greg asked suddenly. Morgan laughed and slowly pushed herself up, standing slowly so she wouldn't slip on the bottom of the tub. The bath oil made the surface slick. Greg admired her oiled body in the candle light.

"This reminds me of a dream I had once." He said. Morgan put her hands on her hips.

"Oh really? When was this?"

"When we worked that chocolate case. The model who drowned in the vat of chocolate, remember him? I had dream the day after we went to the factory and looked in their vats."

Greg tried to push himself up, but slid along the bottom of the tub instead. Morgan giggled and braced herself, helping him stand next to her.

"What was the dream?" Morgan asked. "What kinds of dreams did you have about me before we became more than friends, hmm?"

"Naughty ones." Greg said, borrowing Morgan's word.

"Oh, you dirty man, you had naughty dreams about me?"

"Yeah I did. This one involved you being covered in chocolate and asking me to help you clean yourself off." Greg said with a huge grin on his face as he thought back to the memory. Morgan laughed. She stepped out of the tub and went to turn on the shower.

"How did you help me do that, I wonder?" Morgan asked as she stepped into the shower to rinse off the excess bath oil. Greg climbed into the shower with her and shut the door behind him.

"With my tongue, of course." Greg said with a mischievous smile. "We could try it sometime."

"Perhaps that's what we'll try next. You first bath and then…your first human ice cream cone." Morgan said.

"Sounds good to me. Your wish is my command, oh mighty love goddess." Greg said. Morgan wrapped her arms around him again and rested her head against him.

"I must have been the biggest idiot on the planet to wait so long to admit my feelings." She said.

"Well, welcome to the biggest idiot club, because I did it too." Greg replied. They finished rinsing themselves off, dried off with the towels and put on their pajamas. Greg's consisted of boxers and Morgan's of an old t-shirt of Greg's and a pair of light shorts.

Morgan drifted off to sleep next to Greg, curled up next to him, feeling like the luckiest girl on the planet.

"Love you." Greg mumbled softly into her ear. She smiled contentedly.

"I love you, too."


	9. Secrets, Rumors & Fights - Part I

**Author's Note: So this doesn't come from any specific prompt, it's just a general idea I had. I wanted to include something less fluffy, so this one is going to be centered on the idea of Greg and Morgan (not yet in a relationship) fighting about something.** ****This will be in 2 parts, so this is just part 1.**** **It will progress from there. Let me know if you have any ideas that you want me to write a specific scenarios. There are some things I won't do, so if you PM me with a request and I don't write it, it's probably one of the things I have a problem with, but don't be afraid to ask! Since school is going to be starting soon, my updates won't be as frequent, just to forewarn you…**

Secrets, Rumors & Fights – Part I

Greg rubbed his face as he sat in front of the computer. He'd been looking into the bank records of a victim for the last hour and the numbers were starting to run together. After he had to triple check the date and amount for a withdrawal, he realized he needed a break. So, he signed off the computer and stretched. It was near the end of shift and he would be clocking out soon enough, so he didn't want to drink a cup of coffee because then he wouldn't be able to sleep later.

Instead he wandered into the break room, where he saw a box of donuts and a note from Xiomara, the ballistics tech, saying to 'Take only one!' Greg picked up a glazed donut and bit into it, hoping the temporary sugar rush would get him through the last hour or so of his shift. He dug through the refrigerator and found a bottle of orange juice that he'd put there a day ago.

He leaned against the counter, eating the donut and sipping the orange juice. Honestly, he was afraid that if he sat down, he would start to doze off. He was almost done with the donut when Sean Yeager from swing came strolling into the room to get a cup of coffee.

"Sanders…isn't your shift almost over?" Sean asked.

"Yeah. Trying to give myself a sugar rush so I won't fall asleep." Greg replied, taking his last bite of donut. Sean mixed his coffee and came over to get a donut for himself.

"Eh, I probably shouldn't eat this. I've been doing this paleo, low-carb thing for a while and this'll throw it off." He studied the donut. Greg shrugged. He never tried any of those fad diets, so he wasn't sure what a 'paleo' thing entailed.

"Hey listen, I know this is going to sound weird, but I heard something the other day and I wanted to ask you about it." Sean said, putting the donut back in the box without eating it. He drank the coffee instead. Greg noticed that Sean hadn't put anything in it.

"Sure, what is it?"

"So keep in mind that I heard this from someone else, and it was so ridiculous that I felt like I had to let you know." Sean said, turning to look at him.

"Okay…" Greg said, his curiosity piqued.

"Someone has been telling people that you can talk to the spirits of the dead." Sean said. Greg felt his chest tighten and his heart speed up. There weren't very many people who knew about his history, so the fact that Sean heard about it meant that someone he trusted talked to someone else.

"Have they?" Greg asked.

"Isn't that the stupidest thing you've ever heard? I mean, the idea of a CSI having psychic powers." Sean laughed.

"Who…did you hear that from?" Greg asked. He forced himself to stay calm, he didn't want Sean to know how much it bothered him and for what reason.

"Oh, you know. Around. It's just, I thought you should know because you have a reputation as a good CSI and you probably don't want that kind of rumor being spread about you." Sean said.

"Yeah, yeah." Greg said slowly.

Sean laughed again. "Psychic powers. You know, people can be so gullible. How stupid do you have to be to believe that someone can talk to something that doesn't exist? I mean, everyone knows that those psychics are frauds preying on the weakness of others." He calmed down a little and took one last swig of coffee before throwing out the cup.

"I mean, what kind of a person goes around telling people that they can talk to spirits? You have to be a special kind of manipulative leech to do something that low. Anyone with even just a little common sense can see that people who claim to have those abilities just use tricks on people who are too emotional to look for the obvious clues." Sean continued, staring off into the distance.

"Yeah." Greg said, a wave of nausea hitting him like a brick. He was trying to remember the last person he'd spoken to about any of this. He'd mentioned it to Nick once and Sara might have heard, but he'd known the both of them for more than ten years and he knew they wouldn't go around, talking about it with someone like Sean.

The only other person he could think of was Morgan. _She wouldn't tell Sean something like this, would she? How much does she talk to Sean, anyway? Did I tell her to keep it a secret?_ Greg knew he hadn't really told anyone else to keep it a secret, but he also made sure to tell people who wouldn't be likely to do that anyway. People he knew he could trust…until now.

"So, yeah, I just thought you should know. I wouldn't want anyone saying crap like that about me." Sean said, heading in the direction of the locker room.

"Thanks." Greg said, staring ahead without really seeing.

"Sure thing!" Sean replied, leaving the room. Greg stood there, horror-struck for several minutes. His stomach rumbled angrily; the sugar wasn't sitting well in his stomach. He jerked back to attention and walked out of the break room directly to the staff bathrooms. He locked himself inside the bathroom that was an individual stall, turned on the vent and vomited up the donut and orange juice.

After emptying his stomach, he flushed the toilet and splashed water onto his face. He sat on the bench, shaking. He sat there and thought about it and felt a cold chill run down his spine. He was very sure that the last person he spoke to about his ability was Morgan, which meant that she'd told Sean.

Greg had liked her for a long time and wanted to be more than friends, but was conflicted about disrupting the team any more than it already was. He knew that Morgan saw him as a friend, at minimum. He trusted her and she trusted him. She sought his comfort after she was kidnapped. He tried to protect her when she was in danger.

The idea that she could share something intimate about him with someone else confused him. It wasn't that he didn't like Sean, but he barely knew him. He rarely spoke to him and the impressions Greg had gotten from him made him seem like the kind of guy that Greg avoided in high school and college. What was worse was that Sean was just repeating what he'd heard, most likely from Morgan.

He took a deep breath. He had to prepare himself to do something he never thought he'd have to do. He was going to confront Morgan.

~XXXXX~

Greg left the bathroom and went straight to the locker room. He brushed his teeth and then put his things away in the locker. He took several deep breaths, preparing himself. He walked out of the locker room and looked up and down the hallway.

That's when he saw her. Morgan was standing near Russell's office, and Sean was with her. Sean said something to her that Greg couldn't hear. Morgan replied. Sean said something else. A smile spread over her face and she laughed, putting her hand on his arm.

Sean smiled, tossing his perfect hair. Greg felt a sudden surge of anger and jealousy. A guy like Sean could easily get Morgan to date him. He hadn't realized that Morgan still spoke with him on a regular basis. Sure, they'd worked on a case together a while back, but they worked different shifts and rarely interacted with one another. Greg could count on one hand the number of times he'd interacted with Sean.

 _I shouldn't be surprised that she still talks to him. Why wouldn't she? Obviously she likes to tell him all about my history. Maybe they make fun of me together,_ Greg thought, clenching his fists. He knew that if he didn't talk to Morgan about it now, he would just lie in bed at home, staring at the ceiling, doing nothing but making himself frustrated and angry.

He waited until Sean walked away, leaving Morgan alone. Greg approached her as she stared down at her phone.

"Hey, Morgan." Greg called out. She looked up expectantly, a small smile on her face.

"Greg! What's up?"

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" Greg asked. He had to force himself to sound calm, sound unaffected by the whole thing. He didn't know if Sean was the type of guy to repeat that story to anyone else. He sounded as if he were passing it along as some kind of friendly gesture.

"Sure, what do you want to talk about?" Morgan wondered.

"Actually, can we talk somewhere else? Not out in the open." Greg said. Concern flitted over Morgan's face.

"Okay…uhhh, let's go into the locker room." She said. Greg led the way, trying to work it all out in his head. When they got into the locker room, it was empty.

"What did you want to talk about?" Morgan asked.

Greg turned to look at her, right in the eyes. He had to see her reaction when he asked her about it, because he knew you could tell if someone was lying if you looked them in the eye while they spoke.

"Sean told me something earlier that concerns me, because it was information he had about me that I didn't tell him." Greg said.

Morgan looked confused. "Why would that matter to me?"

"Because it's something personal and the last person I remember talking to about it was you." Greg said. Morgan's eyes widened.

"What did he tell you?" She asked.

"He was concerned that someone was spreading _a rumor_ that I could talk to dead people. He wanted me to know how damaging that could be to my reputation as a CSI, not to mention the fact that all psychics are frauds of the lowest caliber." Greg said.

Morgan stared at him in surprise. "And you think I told Sean about you?"

"Not many other people other people know about it. In fact, you and two other people know about it." Greg said. Morgan stared at him incredulously.

"Greg! You know me, you know I wouldn't talk about something like that with someone else."

"Then how did Sean find out about it? Someone had to have told him." Greg demanded.

"How should I know? Why would you assume I'd tell him something like that? What about the other people that know, maybe they did it." Morgan said.

"They wouldn't." Greg said. "Which leaves you." Morgan briefly looked hurt but it quickly turned to anger.

"I can't believe you would accuse me of this!" Morgan cried out, her voice rising.

"There isn't anyone else that could, _Morgan._ " Greg replied, his voice getting louder.

"You know, you never told anyone to keep it a secret. You never told me that it was a secret! Even then, I didn't tell anyone!" She said.

"Then how did he find out? Why does he know and why is he giving me unsolicited advice about it?" Greg asked, his voice quite loud now.

"How should I know? I'm not with him all the time, every day. I don't know who he talks to on a regular basis! Maybe you should be trying to figure out who told _him_!"

"I already tried that and his response was that he heard it _around_." Greg retorted.

"If he had heard it from me, he would have told you that's where he heard it from." Morgan said. "Maybe you should get all your information before throwing accusations around!"

At the sound of raised voices, a small audience had gathered just outside of the locker room. Nick, Sara, and Finn stood there, watching Greg and Morgan argue with surprised looks on their faces.

"I saw you this morning, laughing and all friendly with him! You seem comfortable enough to share all kinds of information with him, so how am I supposed to know you didn't?" Greg asked.

"Oh, so that's what this is about? You're jealous that I talk to him?"

"I didn't say that, did I? Stop putting WORDS in my mouth!" Greg yelled.

"I don't know what kinds of friends you've had in the past, but the fact that you don't trust me enough to not blab to others about your personal information says a lot about what you think of me, GREG." Morgan said. She balled her hands into fists and shoved him aside into the lockers, storming out of the room without seeing the audience that had gathered to watch them fight. Greg spun to say something in reply, but saw Nick, Sara and Finn standing there, looking alarmed.

"GODDAMNIT!" Greg roared. He kicked the bench, upending it onto the floor. He punched his locker as hard as he could, leaving a dent in its metal door. He stormed out of the locker room, brushing past Nick without a second glance.


	10. Secrets, Rumors & Fights - Part II

**Author's Note: Here is part two, the second half of the previous chapter's story. Enjoy! The one I'm posting tomorrow is going to be…..really weird, so prepare yourself.**

Secrets, Rumors & Fights – II

"Sara, you talk to Morgan, I'm going to talk to Greg." Nick said.

"Sure thing." Sara agreed, jogging off in Morgan's direction.

Finn looked at Nick, alarm still etched into her features.

"I've never seen Greg that angry before, it's rather unnerving." She said. Nick agreed. He had only seen Greg get angry a few times and it was never good when it happened.

"Don't worry, I know how to calm him down." Nick said.

"I'll… fix the locker room." Finn offered. Nick jogged off in the direction Greg had gone. He found him after a few minutes of searching, hiding out in a little known corner of the DNA lab, where most people didn't go, except for the DNA tech. Greg sat on a stool, his head tilted back and resting against the wall.

Nick didn't say anything at first. He simply found another stool, pulled it up near Greg and sat on it. They sat in silence for several minutes. Nick learned the first time he'd seen Greg get angry that it was always better to give the guy a few minutes to be quiet and cool off afterwards, otherwise he was likely to blow up again at random.

Greg was staring at the ceiling, but Nick was sure that Greg saw him. When his eyes drifted down to his, Nick still said nothing. He wanted Greg to talk first.

"Sean Yeager told me about thirty minutes ago that someone is spreading a rumor that I can talk to dead people. He was concerned that it would damage my reputation as a CSI and he wanted to make sure I knew about it, since obviously people who claim to have psychic abilities are frauds preying on weak, gullible people." Greg said, sounding calm. Nick knew better than to think he _was_ calm. He could see the turmoil and anger in Greg's eyes.

"You think Morgan told him about it?" Nick asked, sensing immediately what was upsetting him. Greg nodded.

"Why would she tell Sean about that?" Nick wondered. Greg sat up, glaring at him.

"Whose side are you on?" Greg demanded.

Nick held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "It was just a question, dude. I'm not taking sides on this one, I just wanted to know why she would tell Sean something like that."

Greg was silently angry for a moment. To be honest, he wasn't sure why Morgan would tell Sean anything like that. In fact, if someone had asked him about it two hours ago, he would have said, with certainty, that Morgan would never tell Sean private things about him.

"I don't know. I didn't think she would ever tell him about it, but I can't figure out how Sean knows. You, Sara and Morgan are the only other people I've told," Greg said.

"Well, I certainly didn't tell him. I don't really talk to Sean," Nick said.

"I never thought you did, and I know Sara didn't tell him. Sara doesn't like Sean," Greg said.

"So, by process of elimination, you figured it had to be Morgan."

"Yes. How else would Sean find out? I didn't tell him." Greg said, folding his arms over his chest.

"Maybe Sean overheard it, did you ever think of that? He could have overheard it someplace and jumped to his own conclusions," Nick said.

"Yeah, I suppose, but _where_?"

"Well, let me talk to Sara. She's talking to Morgan right now, maybe if we put our heads together we can figure this out. C'mon man, we're CSIs! It's our job to find the truth, right? Follow the evidence!" Nick said. Greg nodded, looking a lot less tense.

~XXXXX~

Sara was across the lab, sitting with Morgan, who had tears rolling down her cheeks. She hastily wiped them away.

"So, what's going on with you and Greg?" Sara asked softly.

"I don't know. Everything was fine until this morning. He accused me of talking to Sean Yeager about something private because Sean knew about it, when he shouldn't. He said he'd only ever told two other people this secret besides me and he was so sure that neither one of them could have told Sean, so I had to be the source of the leak." Morgan said.

"Greg told you something about himself and somehow Sean found out?" Sara repeated. Morgan nodded.

"Was it about Greg's ability to….see things others can't?" Sara whispered. Morgan turned to stare at Sara in surprise.

"What? How?"

"Nick and I are the other people Greg's told. I didn't even know he'd told you about it." Sara admitted. Morgan exhaled. Now she knew why Greg was so certain about the other two people.

"I didn't know that you and Nick were the other ones he'd told, and for the record, I didn't tell Sean anything about Greg. We don't talk about Greg when we do talk, which isn't as often as Greg seems to think it is," Morgan said defensively.

"Well, Sean had to have heard it somewhere. Maybe no one told him, maybe he eavesdropped into a conversation and overheard it." Sara said.

Morgan looked briefly surprised. "I guess that's possible. It could be why he was so cagey with Greg about where he heard it."

"Perhaps you should have a talk with Sean about the whole thing. Unless…you don't want to share any more information with him," Sara said.

"Yeah…I don't know. I'm just mad that Greg felt as though it was obvious that I was the one who told Sean. It shows how much he trusts me!" Morgan said, angry all over again.

"Morgan, you and I both know that Greg trusts you. He was upset and acted rashly. What did Greg say that Sean told him?"

Morgan repeated all of the things that Greg mentioned when he told her what Sean said, making sure to tell Sara that there could have been more, but that Greg only shared those things specifically.

"So, Greg was upset. Sean was basically calling him all these horrible things without realizing it and he acted hastily without thinking it all the way through. Think about how Greg must have felt with Sean saying all those things." Sara said. Morgan pushed her anger aside for a moment to think about it.

"That doesn't excuse the fact that he basically doesn't trust me to keep the things he tells me to myself. He never even told me that it was a secret, I just kept it because I knew that it was something personal." Morgan said.

"Of course it's not an excuse, but you two are friends, right? So, why not try talking this out like adults. Nick is talking to Greg now, so he's probably got him calm." Sara said.

"Yeah, okay." Morgan agreed.

"I'm going to go talk to Nick to figure out what he's said to Greg and then I'll be right back, okay?" Sara said. Morgan nodded.

Sara left and found Nick wandering the halls, looking for her.

"You talked to Morgan?"

"Yeah, and you talked to Greg?"

Nick shook his head. He summarized his conversation with Greg to Sara and she did the same for her conversation with Morgan.

"So we agree that there's a chance that Sean overheard this information from somewhere else and no one specifically told him." Sara said.

"Yeah, I'm thinking that has to be it. Hey, other than today, have you ever had a whole conversation about it?" Nick asked.

"No, it's never come up." Sara said. "Wait…I mentioned something to Greg the other day, in passing. I didn't use the word psychic, though. Greg was reading a book about it and I asked him a question. He answered. That was it."

Nick perked up. "Do you remember where you were when you mentioned it?"

"Sure, the break room. We were alone, though." Sara insisted.

"Was there anyone near the breakroom, though? Just outside of the room?" Nick asked. Sara frowned, struggling to remember.

"I don't think so, but I wasn't really paying attention. You might jog Greg's memory about the conversation and see if he remembers anything." Sara said.

"Right, I'm going to go tell Greg. You can tell Morgan and we'll meet in the break room in five minutes, okay?" Nick said.

"Sounds good." Sara said. They went their separate ways.

~XXXXX~

Nick went back to Greg and reminded him of the conversation he'd had with Sara in the break room.

"Yeah, I remember it. Why?"

"Do you remember anyone else being in or near the break room during that conversation?" Nick asked. Greg sat there, frowning.

"No, not really. Sara left on a call out to the Tangiers and I finished my coffee." Greg said.

"Who came in after Sara left the room?"

"Hodges, I think." Greg said. Then he sighed, covering his face with his hands.

"Hodges…King of the Grapevine and Gossip Train?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, one in the same," Greg said, feeling stupid. "I didn't think about it at the time because he didn't enter the break room until about a minute after Sara left."

"So, Hodges could have heard your conversation with Sara and put it all together himself, right?" Nick asked.

"Sure, I suppose." Greg agreed, rubbing his face.

"Okay, you're going to go talk to Sara and Morgan. Meanwhile, I'm going to have a chat with Hodges." Nick said. Greg got up and went to the break room, while Nick left to go find Hodges.

Sara and Morgan waited there for him. Morgan was silent, her arms folded across her chest.

"Where's Nick?" Sara wondered.

"He's having a chat with Hodges about his big mouth." Greg said. Morgan frowned.

"Oh, so you're falsely accusing him of spreading stuff now?" She asked.

"As a matter of fact, Nick was able to figure out where Sean got his information. When Sara and I had a chat about a book I was reading a week ago, the topic came up. After she left on a call-out, Hodges came into the break room acting all nice. Since we all know what a blabbermouth he is, it's not that unreasonable to assume that he told Sean." Greg said. Morgan was silent.

"Oh, gosh, Greg. I'm sorry." Sara said.

"It's not your fault, Sara. Hodges can't keep himself out of everyone else's business." Greg said.

"Well, I think you owe me an apology." Morgan snapped. Greg stared at her and Morgan felt a slight chill of nervousness. He had a hard look in his eyes.

"Well, I confirmed it. Hodges was the one who told Sean." Nick said, appearing suddenly. He shook his head.

"He heard Sara and Greg talking about it and figured it out. He mentioned it to Sean the other day and that's how this whole thing got started. I told Hodges to stop blabbing to other people about overheard conversations, so hopefully this whole thing is solved." Nick said, looking mildly annoyed. Sara grinned.

"I guess, we'll leave you two to finish this conversation." Sara said. She gave Morgan a pat and she and Nick left. Morgan and Greg stared at each other.

"Morgan, I'm sorry for accusing you of telling Sean about me." Greg said.

"And I'm sorry that you felt like you could trust me so little that I was your first suspect." Morgan said angrily.

Greg said nothing, he just lowered his gaze and stared down at his feet.

"Hey, Morgan what…oh…." Sean stopped. Greg looked up at him. Sean stared at him, then at Morgan.

"Lover's quarrel? Sorry for interrupting, I'll leave you to it then…" Sean backed away from them both.

"Why would you call it that?" Greg and Morgan asked at the exact same time. Sean stared at the both of them and burst out laughing.

Greg and Morgan exchanged a glance while Sean answered.

"Look, there is so much sexual tension between you two that it's obvious. Everyone knows about it and the fact that you basically say the same things at the same time just proves it. Do you know how many people have put money on how long it will take you two to finally get together? Anyway, I'm going to stop talking and back away slowly…" Sean held up his hands and backed out of the room, leaving them alone to stare at the spot he once stood.

Greg looked at Morgan, who was staring at the doorway. She turned to stare back at him.

"There's a bet going on how long it will take us to get together?" Morgan asked out loud.

"Apparently so." Greg replied.

"Can we…talk somewhere more private?" Morgan asked.

"Yes." Greg agreed.

~XXXXX~

Greg and Morgan went to the parking garage and sat in a Denali to ensure their privacy. It was awkward and tense.

"Greg…I'm really hurt by the fact that you just assumed that I would tell Sean something private about you that you shared with me in confidence." Morgan said.

"I was angry. I used basic process of elimination. I would have accused Sara if I had remembered that conversation sooner." Greg replied. "And I had a right to be angry. Sean doesn't need to know anything about my childhood or private business. What was I supposed to think when he started spouting off his opinion?"

Morgan sighed. "So…we both have a right to be mad. You apologized, so… I forgive you. I apologize as well."

They stared at one another.

"I forgive you." Greg said quietly. "And I really am sorry for falsely accusing you of sharing information with Sean, I just… I panicked after all of those things he said."

"So, truce?" Morgan asked.

"Truce." Greg agreed, the tension sliding from his shoulders. Morgan sighed with relief, leaning back in her seat.

"I don't think we've ever had a fight before," Morgan said, sounding surprised.

"No, I don't think we have," Greg agreed.

"I…hope I never have to see you that angry again."

"I don't like being that angry. I'm usually pretty relaxed about things, but when it comes to stuff like that, I won't sit around."

Greg and Morgan were silent again, unsure about what to say or do next.

"Do you think what Sean said is true?" Greg asked.

"About… the sexual tension?" Morgan asked. Greg nodded.

"I mean…maybe. I've said it before, you are pretty hot, and smart and funny…" Morgan trailed off. Greg couldn't keep the grin from spreading over his face.

"You're pretty hot, too, you know. The first time I met you, after you walked away, I turned to Nick and said, ' _That's_ Ecklie's daughter?' and Nick told me not to even think about it." Greg said.

"He _did_?" Morgan asked. She laughed. "How did that work out for you?"

"Not well at all. I did the opposite of what he suggested." Greg said.

"So you thought about it." Morgan said. "I thought about it." The stared at each other again.

"Morgan, will you go out with me?" Greg asked. She threw her arms around him in a hug.

"Oh, yes I will, Greg Sanders!" She kissed him on the cheek and he hugged her back. Greg laughed and she smiled.

"Maybe one of these days you could tell me what kinds of things you thought about." Morgan said.

"Or maybe we could do some of those things." Greg whispered.

"Okay…" Morgan agreed, kissing him again. Greg pulled her closer as he deepened the kiss. They didn't see Nick and Sara smiling from the door to the elevator in the parking garage, high-five each other and leave to collect their money from Sean.


	11. Transformations

**Author's Note: This doesn't come from a specific prompt, it's just an idea that I had. I'm sure someone has thought of this before me, but since I didn't find it anywhere, there's no specific credit that goes to anyone. This is going to be a bit on the weird side, compared with the other chapters that I've written. Consider it Sci-Fi, I suppose? Fantasy? Anyway, suspend your disbelief and read, it should be amusing.**

Tranformations

The tiny, elderly man sitting in PD looked entirely out of place. He wore a neatly tailored suit, dark purple, with a copper colored ascot and green leather shoes. His white beard curled neatly at the ends and his mustache was combed and groomed to curl as well. He wore a hat that looked a lot like a fedora, made of green velvet. He also had a cane, made of mahogany with a bronze grip.

His round, gold-rimmed sunglasses topped off the look. People walked by without acknowledging the man's presence, almost as if they didn't even realize he was there. Almost as if they couldn't see him at all.

Greg and Morgan were at PD, working on a case. They came out of an interrogation room, and Morgan said she needed to use the restroom, so Greg agreed to wait for her. He spotted the man immediately. Curious about his interesting appearance, Greg sat next to him.

"Hello!" Greg said cheerfully.

"Why, hello young man!" The elderly gentleman replied.

"What are you doing here, do you need help with anything?" Greg asked.

"Oh, I'm just waiting for someone. I don't need any help, but thank you." The old man smiled. No one else was in the hallway, so Greg wondered who he might be waiting for. He saw Morgan come out of the bathroom at the other end of the hall, but she got distracted by her phone.

"Actually, I might be able to help you." The elderly man said happily.

"Oh? With what?"

"I provide a unique service, you might say. I provide…for a certain kind of person… experiences they will never forget." He said.

"What kinds of experiences?" Greg asked, curious. The man held out his hand.

"Take this, and you shall discover it yourself."

Greg opened his hand and the old man deposited something smooth and oval shaped into his palm.

"What's this?" Greg wondered.

"Something you won't forget, but…it will only last 24hrs. Use your time wisely, my good man!" The elderly gentleman warned. Greg stared down at the object in fascination. He looked up to ask the man another question, when he realized that he was gone.

He looked up and down the hallway, confused. He wasn't anywhere to be seen! He stared back down at the object in his palm. It had a pearlescent sheen to it, and it gave off a soft glow. Greg held it up to his eye as the glow slowly became more intense.

The last thing he remembered was a warm, bright light, enveloping him in its warmth and Morgan's voice, calling out to him in shock.

~XXXXX~

Morgan couldn't figure out what Greg was doing. She put her phone away and stared at him. He looked like he was talking to someone, but there wasn't anyone there. He had something in his hand and brought it up to his face to look at it when a bright flash of light filled the hallway in all directions, temporarily blinding her.

Morgan covered her face and turned away from the source of light. It didn't burn. In fact, it was pleasantly warm. When the light faded enough for her to uncover her eyes, she couldn't see Greg. The place where Greg had been sitting was obscured by a white column of softly glowing light. Morgan stared at it in stunned silence.

She looked up and down the hallway. No one appeared. No one came rushing over to find out what just happened, where the light came from or anything. In fact, it seemed much to quiet, as if something was keeping everyone away. The column of light remained in the hallway, where Greg had been sitting. Or was still sitting? She couldn't tell.

Morgan jogged up to it and called out to Greg. She was surprised to hear a garbled answer.

"Morgan?" It didn't sound quite like Greg, it sounded strange. Morgan was afraid to touch the column, so she didn't.

"Are you okay?"

"Sure, I just… something's happening to me." Greg replied. His voice was even more garbled than a few moments ago.

"I…should go get help." Morgan said, hesitantly. No one had bothered to show up yet. It was the weirdest thing.

"No, stay here!" Greg's garbled voice replied. The column of light began to dim, slowly and Morgan backed away from it, but she didn't leave. She pulled out her phone to text Russell, Nick or anyone else, but was shocked to find that she had no service, no bars of reception.

"What?" She hissed, trying to make a call. It didn't go through. She glanced up at the column of light. It had to be the source of the glitch in her phone. The column started to retract from the ceiling, shrinking on itself. Morgan put her phone away and watched it slowly sink into the floor.

When it had completely disappeared, a strange fog that had gathered in the spot where it had been dissipated. Greg, or someone else, was curled up on the floor. She frowned at the person she saw before her. The person wore Greg's clothes, but the clearly did not fit; they were baggy and loose. The person had their face buried in their arm against the linoleum of the hallway.

"Greg?" Morgan asked, unsure. The person in front of her had long, beautiful wavy golden blonde hair. Longer than hers, in fact.

"Morgan?" The person on the floor replied. It sounded like Greg…but different. The voice was higher, softer.

"Greg, what happened?"

"I'm…I feel weird. This old man gave me something and said I only had 24hrs." Greg replied, face still buried in his arm. Morgan moved to stare at Greg's arm. It didn't look like his arm anymore. It was thin and delicate looking, with a feminine hand attached to it and manicured fingernails.

"Greg, let me see your face." Morgan said, an odd feeling of dread coming over her.

"I'm scared too." Greg replied.

"Greg, you can't stay on the floor." Morgan hissed.

"Fine." Greg replied, pushing himself off of the floor. The other arm looked the same. Greg held his hands out in front of him and made a strange noise.

"What?"

"I'm a girl." Greg said, his face turned away from hers.

"What?"

Greg covered his face and turned in her direction. He had bangs in his hair and it was stylishly curled, his hands were now feminine and when he stood up, she could see why the clothes didn't fit. The stretched across hips that had appeared that hadn't been there before and across breasts that now existed.

"Greg…?" Morgan looked up at him. Her? Greg was as tall as he'd been before transforming, so the hair and hands looked feminine, but she remained six feet tall.

"Greg!" Morgan said. Her hands lowered just enough for Morgan to see Greg's eyes. They were the same large, beautiful brown eyes as before, except…now they had long eyelashes attached to them, with a light layer of eyeshadow, eyeliner and mascara and sculpted, arched eyebrows.

"Oh." Morgan said, panic rising in her chest.

"Let's go to the bathroom." Morgan said, grabbing her arm and dragging her towards the girl's bathroom.

"The girl's bathroom?" Greg squeaked behind his hands.

"You look like a girl right now, so yes." Morgan said. "No one's in there."

She dragged Greg into the women's staff bathroom and locked the door. She pushed Greg in front of the mirror to see her eyes.

"Lower your hands, please?" Morgan pleaded. Greg slowly lowered his hands, revealing a beautiful face with straight, elegant nose and a wide, feminine mouth. He looked, Morgan thought jealously, like a supermodel.

Greg stared at his reflection in shock. "I'm a woman. How am I a woman?" He asked. He sounded like a woman, too.

"I don't know, but you said that guy told you it would only be for 24 hours, right?" Morgan said.

Greg sighed with relief. "Yes! That's what he said. Oh, crap, what about work?" They stood there and Greg made a face that reminded her so much of him normally, that it was strange seeing it on a woman.

"I'll call in sick for you, tell Russell you aren't feeling well and maybe you have a stomach bug. After that, we need to get you some clothes." Morgan said. "Don't worry, I have some clothes from my old roommate that might fit you."

"Uhh…" Greg made a face. "Okay." The left PD, stunned that no one noticed the transformation or asked questions.

~XXXXX~

 **(A/N: If you want to know what I used for inspiration for female Greg, look up a picture of Cameron Richardson and that'll give you an idea!)**

Morgan took care of everything. She called in sick for Greg and told Russell she was taking him home. She used that time to drive to her own apartment and drag Greg up to her bedroom. Greg looked around curiously.

"You know, I always wanted to see you bedroom, but not under these circumstances." She smirked at Morgan suggestively, which was so strange. Morgan could see Greg in her face, but since it was still a woman's face, her feelings were conflicted.

"Perhaps once you're a man again you can see it again." Morgan said. Greg looked briefly confused and then sighed.

"So I guess that makes me a lesbian for 24 hours." Greg said. Morgan started digging through her closet for clothes. Her roommate that moved out had left a lot behind. She pulled some of it out for Greg.

"We need to give you a new name for 24 hours." Morgan said. They brainstormed names until Greg decided on Ingrid, after his cousin.

"Hey, you could take me to the lab and I could still help with the case, but you could just tell everyone I'm Greg's cousin visiting from Norway, Ingrid Sanders."

Morgan nodded. "That could work. I could get you a visitor pass. You'd just have to act like you don't know anyone, _Ingrid._ "

"Right."

"Try these on." Morgan said, holding up a pair of clean underwear and a bra. Greg made a face at them.

"C'mon!" Morgan said. Greg peeled off his jacket and shoes, which did not fit at all. He took off his socks to reveal thin, feminine looking feet.

"You're a girl now, so seeing you naked isn't that big a deal." Morgan reminded him. Greg pulled off his shirt and Morgan handed him the bra. Greg couldn't figure out how to put it on by himself, so she hooked the clasps behind his back.

"This…isn't comfortable." He said, prodding the bra.

"No, they don't always feel great." Morgan agreed. Greg put on the underwear easily enough. Morgan caught him peering down into his underwear with a frown.

"What are you doing?!" She asked. Greg jumped.

"Missing my penis." She said. Morgan sputtered and laughed.

"Hey! You'd miss your parts if they were replaced with others. Temporarily." Greg insisted.

"Okay, put these pants on!" Greg ended up fitting into her roommate's clothes quite well. Morgan found that she was a little bit jealous of how great Greg looked as a woman. She gave him a nice pair of skinny jeans, which looked great with his new, long womanly legs, a nice blouse that fit well with his thin woman physique and even a small cardigan to go over it. She gave him a pair of sandals and stood back to stare at him.

"Well, Ingrid, you look good."

Greg studied his reflection in the mirror, both curious and confused.

"I'm attracted to the female version of myself." Greg said laughing.

"You ready to go back to the lab?" Morgan asked.

"I suppose…" Greg said.

"I have to pee." He looked horrified. "How do I pee?"

~XXXXX~

After a strange and long lesson on how to pee sitting down, Morgan and Ingrid made their way back to the lab.

"You know, peeing sitting down is actually less messy, even if it is weird." Greg said.

"Don't say that in front of anyone else." Morgan said immediately as she parked the Denali.

"Right! I'm a woman. I'm _Ingrid._ I _always_ pee sitting down." Greg agreed. They got out of the car and went up to the lab. Morgan got _Ingrid_ a visitor pass, explaining to the secretary that she was Greg's cousin visiting from Norway and that she wanted to see the lab.

"Oh, you're so beautiful!" The secretary said. "What do you do to get your hair to look like that?"

"Uhh…" Greg trailed off as Morgan grabbed his arm. "Secret family recipe!" Greg called out as Morgan dragged him away.

"Geez, I don't even know what pronouns to use with you." Morgan hissed.

"Feminine ones! I'm a woman until tomorrow." Greg hissed. "How am I supposed to answer questions like that?"

"I don't know." Morgan said. Greg followed her to the break room, where Finn and Sara stood. They stopped to stare at Greg.

"Hey guys! Uh, this… is Ingrid Sanders. She's Greg's cousin from Norway and since he didn't want her hanging around his apartment all day while he was sick, I offered to bring her here as a visitor." Morgan said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you!" Finn said brightly, shaking his hand. He shook Sara's hand too.

"Wow, you look like Greg. Sort of. If Greg were a girl." Sara said, studying his eyes.

"Oh, really? People tell us we look like siblings all the time. Twins, even." Greg said. Sara and Finn smiled.

"You do look as though you could be siblings." Finn agreed.

"Uhh, I need to check with Russell about the case. You'll be fine right here." Morgan said. Greg nodded and she left for his office.

"So, Ingrid, what do you do for a living? Let me guess… modeling!" Finn said. Greg frantically went through his memories, trying to remember what the real Ingrid did for a living.

"A little bit. I'm actually more of a historian." He said.

"Oh, that's interesting. Greg loves history, too." Sara said. Finn's phone beeped and she sighed.

"That'll be Xiomara, with our ballistics results." She said to Sara.

"It was nice meeting you!" Sara called out.

"Yeah, we should have girl's night!" Finn said brightly as they left the room. Greg went to get a cup of coffee, when he heard someone enter the break room.

"Uhh, who are you?" Greg turned to see Nick staring at him. A strange feeling came over him because now he realized that when he and Nick saw a pretty girl, and they gave them those looks that he knew the both of them got, that this is what it felt like…to be on the receiving end of that stare.

"I'm Ingrid Sanders, Greg's cousin from Norway. He was sick and I was staying with him. He didn't want me to catch what he has, so Morgan's been showing me around. Is it okay if I get coffee?"

"Yeah! That's fine. How come Greg never mentioned you before?" Nick asked, approaching him. Greg was taller than Nick as a man, and since whatever happened to him hadn't made him any shorter, Nick had to look up to see him.

"Probably slipped his mind. He and I don't talk all the time, but since I was going to be in Vegas I called him and he told me I could stay." Nick studied his face.

"You…look like him. It's kind of weird. Like, if Greg were a girl, he might look like you."

"People think we're twins when we walk around together." He replied, feeling more awkward.

"Obviously you're a lot prettier than he is." Nick said. Greg laughed, hoping it didn't sound strained.

"Thank you." Greg said.

"So, Nick have you…. Wow." Hodges and Henry appeared, but both came to a screeching halt and stared at Greg, who now felt even more uncomfortable. _Is this what it feels like to women when I act that way? I hate this!_ He thought.

"Hello…. And who may you be?" Hodges asked with a curious smile. Nick introduced him as Ingrid, Greg's cousin from Norway. Henry studied his appearance and said the thing that _everyone_ had been saying.

"You…. Look a lot like Greg. In fact, if Greg were a girl…." Henry began.

"You'd think that I would be how he would look." Greg finished with a smile at Henry.

"Yeah!" Henry agreed.

"No, Greg wouldn't be that pretty as a girl." Hodges said. Greg felt mildly insulted, but couldn't help the laugh that came out of his mouth.

"Oh, I don't know. I bet he'd be lovely as a woman. He's a rather handsome man, in my opinion." Greg said, realizing that he could chat himself up as much as he liked.

"It's funny, he never mentioned you before." Hodges said.

"Well, he's busy and I don't think I would come up in normal conversation." Greg replied.

"So, do you have a boyfriend?" Hodges asked. Henry gave Hodges a strange look and Nick rolled his eyes.

"No, I don't." Greg said honestly. Morgan reappeared in the room, thankfully.

"What are you three doing?" She asked.

"Flirting." Nick said, pointing at Hodges, who glared at him.

"Introducing ourselves." Henry explained.

"Well, don't harass Ingrid. Greg wouldn't be happy to know that you three are treating his cousin as if she were a piece of fresh meat." Morgan said, grabbing Greg/Ingrid's arm.

"Hey, if you don't have a boyfriend, we could go out sometime!" Hodges called. Greg laughed.

"I'm a lesbian, sorry!" He called back. The looks on Nick, Henry and Hodges' face was priceless.

~XXXXX~

"So, we have a problem." Morgan said to Greg, who was still giggling over his conversations with Nick, Hodges and Henry.

"What problem?"

"Finn and Sara want you to come on a girl's night out."

"So, tell them I can't. That I'm leaving on an early flight." Greg replied.

"They already planned it. Russell gave them permission to leave early since we're caught up on everything. He said to make sure we show you 'a nice time'." Morgan said.

"What?"

"So, yeah." Morgan said with an uncertain smile.

"I can't go on girl's night. I'm not really a girl." Greg hissed desperately.

"Well, it's not up to you…"Morgan started to say, but stopped when she heard someone approaching.

"Hey! Ingrid, are you ready for girl's night?" Finn asked excitedly, appearing from behind Greg. Sara followed her.

"Sure! I've never been to a girl's night in Vegas before, so it should be fun!" Greg said, doing his best to not sound absolutely terrified. Finn clapped her hands excitedly.

"Let's go!" She said. They took a cab to a bar that Greg had heard of, but never been too. It was Ladies Night, of course, and the bouncer let them all in, with a suggestive smile at Greg's legs.

"That bouncer stared at my legs." Greg said to Morgan with a frown.

"Get used to it." Morgan hissed. "You have long legs for a woman and men are going to look at them."

" _I'm not attracted to men, I'm attracted to women."_ Greg said forcefully. Finn heard the last part of what Greg said.

"Oh, you're a lesbian?" They were at a table and Finn ordered them all beers.

"Uh, yeah." Greg said. Sara and Finn didn't seem bothered by this fact.

"What's your type? Of girl, I mean?" Finn wondered.

"Uh, well…. I don't know, Morgan's pretty cute. Except she's straight, so that wouldn't happen." Greg smiled and Morgan sputtered into her beer.

"What?"

"You should go out with Greg, he's pretty cute." He continued, taking a drink of beer. Morgan squinted up at him, pursing her lips together.

"You should." Finn agreed and Sara nodded. Greg perked up, seeing that they supported the idea.

"Greg's a great guy, very sweet." Sara said. "He asked me out once, a long time ago." Finn and Morgan stared at Sara in surprise.

"It was before I was ever with Gil! Don't look so surprised. He was adorable, but not really my type. I turned him down." Sara said, sounding wistful.

"You turned him down? Are you kidding? He looks like he'd be a lot of fun on a date. Adventurous." Finn said with a smile. Greg had to do everything in his power not to blush. Ingrid would have no reason to blush at this conversation!

"But you did think he was adorable?" Greg asked Sara, who nodded.

"He was wearing his hair in this Mohawk style thing with parts of it shaved off on the sides at the time. It actually looked really good on him, but I had the biggest crush on Gil at the time, so I didn't want to go on a date with him and make him think I would have wanted something out of it." Sara said.

"A Mohawk?" Finn and Morgan said incredulously at the same time.

"Yeah, I have a picture." Sara said, pulling out her phone and scrolling through her photos. "Here!" She handed her phone to Morgan and Finn. Greg peeked over their shoulders to see. It was him and Sara, taking a selfie in the DNA lab. His shirt wasn't too ridiculous that day, but his hair was definitely in the style she'd described.

"How old was Greg in this picture?" Morgan asked.

"Oh, about twenty-six." Sara replied.

"He's a little hottie, I would have gone out with him." Finn said with a smile. Greg immediately hid his face behind his beer, chugging the rest.

"Yeah, he used to be into all sorts of weird stuff. I remember when he told Nick about liquid latex…." Sara said with a laugh.

"What?" Morgan and Finn asked. Greg suddenly felt as though he was committing some kind of cardinal sin by being here. Sara told them the story about Greg and Nick's conversation about liquid latex and how you could paint it on anyone or _anything_.

"If I remember Nick's words correctly, Greg claimed that you could paint it on yourself if you wanted, but that was only if you couldn't get a date and _he wouldn't know what that felt like._ " Finn laughed.

"I told you he seems adventurous." Finn said to Morgan. "You two would be adorable together, and you'd have cute babies." Greg bit down on this inside of his mouth to prevent himself from responding or making a noise.

"I mean, if I didn't feel like I was poaching or cradle robbing a bit, I'd take a shot at him." Finn admitted. Sara and Morgan stared at her in surprise, and Greg coughed, almost choking on his beer. Morgan gave him a pat on the back and he smiled shakily.

"What? He _is_ cute, you know. Not really my type, but I'd try it at least once." Finn said with a shrug. Sara laughed and Morgan smiled uncertainly.

"Don't worry, I won't move in on him. I think you and Greg should go out." Finn said firmly to Morgan. Sara nodded.

"She's right, you should."

Morgan looked up at him. "I'm sure Greg would love to go on a date with you." He said.

"Well, if he asks, I would say yes." Morgan said to him.

~XXXXX~

Ladies night proved to be more educational than Greg expected, and when it was over, they took a cab back to Morgan's place, where Greg collapsed in a heap on the couch and promptly fell asleep. Morgan threw a blanket over him/her and moved her hair out of the way before going to bed herself.

When Greg woke up the next morning, he felt odd. Then he looked down at himself. He was still a woman, but he had only a few hours left before he would be a man again. He stumbled into the bathroom and stared at himself in the mirror. His hair was all crazy looking and the clothes he slept in wrinkled.

He went to the bathroom, washed his hands and face and since he had no toothbrush, he flossed and gargled with mouthwash. He found pain medicine in Morgan's medicine cabinet and took it for his headache. He stumbled over to the bedroom and knocked on the door.

"Morgan?"

He heard her move around and she opened the door, wearing a small cropped t-shirt and a pair of very tight fitting cotton shorts. Greg blinked in surprise and smiled.

"What? Oh!" She stared up and Greg/Ingrid, and then remembered that even though Greg was in a girl's body, he still felt his usual attractions.

"Are those your pajamas?" He asked.

"Yeah, uhh, hold on." She disappeared into her closet and came back out wearing jeans and a t-shirt, to Greg's great disappointment. She gave Greg new clothes too and he peeled off the others. They went out for food and thankfully, Greg didn't get as many stares as he had before, or perhaps he'd gotten used to it?

"So, you're going to say that Ingrid had to take care of something at home in Norway and she left." Greg said to Morgan over waffles.

"Agreed, and you can't act like you know any of the things you now know." Morgan said, pointing her fork at Ingrid/Greg's face. He nodded, shoving his long blonde hair behind him in annoyance. Morgan giggled and Ingrid gave him a mildly annoyed look.

"You have to admit this whole thing is pretty funny. I know you said there was an old man there, but I didn't see _anyone_." Morgan said.

"He had a white beard, okay? He was wearing a purple suit and a green velvet hat and he had a cane and he was _there_." Greg insisted.

"Sure. If you say so." Morgan said with a shrug. "But just so you know, this sounds like something out of Harry Potter."

Greg folded his arms over his chest and then frowned. "You know, boobs are annoying." He said with a contemplative air.

Morgan laughed. "Well, at least you didn't get your period." Greg made a horrified face.

"I never thought of that! Geez!"

"Well, you have only about five hours left of being a woman. Is there anything you want to do with those last five hours?" Morgan wondered.

"We could go to a club." Greg said. "Like a dance club, that would be fun."

"Greg! It's like 3am."

"So, we're in a Waffle House right now. I'm pretty sure those two women over there are transvestites and I only get to be a woman once, as far as I know, so why not?"

Morgan smiled. "Fine. A dance club it is!"

~XXXXX~

They arrived at a dance club, after yet another change of clothes. Greg had no idea how to dance as a woman and Morgan hadn't laughed that hard in years. When men started to get awkwardly close, though, she pulled Ingrid/Greg away from them.

"Hey! Hey, I'm dancing with her!" A guy yelled.

"I'm a lesbian, so not interested." Greg replied. "I wasn't dancing with you anyway." The guy leered at him.

"I could be talked into a three-way with you and your friend here." He said, pointing at Morgan.

"Excuse me?" Greg snarled, getting in the guy's face. "You don't speak to her that way!"

The man laughed at Ingrid/Greg. "What are you going to do about it, sweetheart?" He reached out and gave Ingrid/Greg's butt a slap. Morgan started to protest when Greg pulled his fist back and punched the guy in the face.

The guy let out a yelp and clutched his face in shock. "What the hell? You bitch!" He grabbed at Ingrid/Greg, but he jumped away from him.

"Time to go!" Greg said, grabbing Morgan's hand as they raced through the dance club, trying to dodge the dancing bodies and the angry man chasing after them.

"Here!" Greg said, they ran into a side room and closed the door. Morgan gasped, clutching her side. They ended up in a utility closet.

"You have two hours left." Morgan said, checking her phone for the time. "I don't think a dance club was a good idea."

"That guy grabbed my butt, I had a right to punch him." Greg said. "Three-way, what a disgusting blob."

"Well, thank you for coming to my defense. That was some punch!"

"Yeah, I broke a nail, too, it HURT." Greg said, holding out his hand. Morgan looked down at his cracked fingernail, bleeding.

"Let's just… go back to my place and relax." Morgan said.

"Sure, that sounds good." Greg agreed.

~XXXXX~

They managed to get back to Morgan's apartment without any further incident. Greg took a shower and changed back into his regular clothes, the ones he'd been in when he originally transformed. Morgan took a shower and changed into something comfortable.

She sat next to Greg on the couch and they watched a movie. In the middle of the movie, Morgan's phone beeped an alarm she'd set for the 24 hour mark. She looked up at Greg/Ingrid, who stared at the alarm.

"Your transformation back to a man should start any second." Morgan said.

"Yeah." Greg said. Light appeared at his feet and he stared down at it. The column rose up to swallow him whole. Morgan turned away from its brightness. When the light faded, she turned to look back at where Ingrid/Greg had been sitting.

Greg sat there, looking like himself again. He blinked and looked at her. He jumped up and raced to the bathroom.

"What are you doing?" Morgan asked.

"Checking to make sure all my body parts are back the way they were!" Greg called from the bathroom. Morgan laughed. Greg returned moments later.

" _Everything's_ back to normal." Greg said.

"Good." Morgan said, getting up and wrapping her arms around Greg.

"So, you want to go on a date?" Greg asked with a smile.

"Of course I would. I would also like to know more about liquid latex." She pulled his face close and kissed him.

Greg wrapped his arms around Morgan and deepened the kiss. "I feel sympathy for you now that I know what it feels like to be a woman, but let me just say….that I'm so glad that I get to be myself again." Greg said to her.

"Me too!" Morgan agreed as they kissed again.


	12. Fountain of Youth

**A/N: So I might have been inspired by the previous chapter to do this one. I promise after this chapter that I won't have any more weird magic transformations…unless you want more, in which case, I can do that.**

Greg and Morgan frowned at the evidence in the layout room. A suspicious death at a local high school that they had to treat as a murder until proven otherwise. The victim was an awkward looking sixteen year old boy. It sparked a discussion about high school.

"I thought we both agreed that high school wasn't a comfortable subject for either one of us." Morgan said to Greg, who nodded.

"Yeah, it is. It just feels like we've had a lot of cases involving high school students lately." He replied.

"I need a break, what about you?" Morgan asked.

"Yes!" Greg agreed. He and Morgan went to go grab a snack from the break room, when a strange man appeared in front of them.

"Your wish in my command!" He said brightly, waving his hand in front of the two of them. A glittering dust floated in the air in front of them, making Morgan sneeze violently.

"Hey!" Greg said, waving the dust away. "We didn't wish for anything!"

The last thing either one of them remembered was being swallowed by a warm, gentle light.

~XXXXX~

D.B., Finn, Nick, Sara and Ecklie stared at the two columns of light in the middle of the hallway, entirely baffled by their appearance and their purpose. It wasn't until Nick went back to look at the security footage that they discovered that Greg and Morgan were inside the columns of light.

They touched the columns, but nothing happened.

"How is this even scientifically possible? Physically possible?" Sara wondered.

"The footage shows a strange disturbance in the image just ahead of Greg and Morgan, and Greg makes a move like he's waving something out of his face and then the columns of light appear right where they were standing only moments before." They reviewed the footage over and over.

Ecklie was pacing in front of the columns of light, glaring at them.

"We need to get them out of there! Now!"

As if his words were all that was needed, the column of light where Morgan was standing begun to shrink until it disappeared with a small crackle. Morgan stood there, looking baffled; except she didn't look quite like the Morgan they all knew and recognized.

She had the same blonde hair and her face looked younger. Her hair was much longer and worn straight. Her clothes were entirely different, from a different time period. She stared at them and frowned.

"I…feel weird. Oh, God." She stared down at herself. "I recognize this dress…. I haven't worn this since I was sixteen!" She cried out. It was a short, pale blue dress. She wore platform shoes, much like the ones popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

They stared at her in shock.

"How is this possible?" Morgan demanded, looking around. She froze when she saw the other column of light right next to her.

"Greg? Is Greg in there?" She asked them. They all nodded.

She stepped away from it to stare at it, and it begun to shrink away into the floor as well, and with a final crackle of electricity, it was gone. In the column's place stood a tall teenage boy. He had Greg Sander's face, although more youthful, but everything else about him looked entirely different.

His hair was dyed a lighter shade of blonde, and cut into a Mohawk with designs shaved into the sides. He wore a pair of dingy looking jeans, slightly baggy, with ratted converse shoes and a baggy black Metallica t-shirt and a worn gray oversized hoodie. He had an earring in his left ear and, when Morgan stared closely, _eyeliner_.

"Greg?" She asked. He turned to look at her and frowned.

"You…you look different. You look younger." He said. Greg's voice sounded slightly different. Confused, he stared down at himself. His eyes went wide with panic.

"I…I'm sixteen again! Oh God, that was when I was in my punk phase…" Greg mumbled. "I gotta find a bathroom!" He ran away from the group towards the staff bathroom.

"Greg, wait!" Morgan cried out, racing after him.

The rest of the CSI team and Ecklie stared after them in shock.

"Greg wasn't kidding when he said he had different phases as a teenager." Nick said finally, shaking his head.

~XXXXX~

Greg stared at his reflection in horror. The only thing he had to be thankful for, he supposed, was that by the time he was sixteen, he didn't have braces or headgear. Someone pounded on the door. He opened it to find Morgan, also looking sixteen, staring at him.

She walked into the bathroom.

"Hey, this is the men's room." Greg said.

"Like I care! I need to see myself in the mirror." Morgan said, standing next to Greg to stare at herself. She sighed.

"Hey, I think you're cute." Greg said. Morgan stared up at him, with his eyeliner and bleached hair and Mohawk.

"You're kind of cute too. Is that… is your tongue pierced?" She asked. Greg opened his mouth, revealing a tongue piercing in the center.

"Yeah." He said.

"You've got this whole rebellious punk vibe going, I would have gone for that when I was sixteen." Morgan said. Greg smiled.

"Except, when you were sixteen, I was about twenty-five." He said. They walked out of the bathroom and stood in the hallway uncertainly.

"How long do you suppose we're going to stay like this?" Morgan asked.

"I don't know, but… do you find that your sixteen year old mind came along with the body? Like… I'm still an adult, but it's almost like my sixteen year old self exists with it." Greg said. Morgan nodded eagerly.

"Yes! It's like I'll get a random thought and I know it's not something I would think as an adult." Morgan agreed. "Like right now, my sixteen year old self wants to flirt with you."

Greg arched an eyebrow. "Adult Morgan wouldn't want that?"

"Adult Morgan wouldn't want to flirt with a sixteen year old boy, even if I knew he was really an adult that had been magically transformed." She corrected. The rest of the CSI team, along with Ecklie appeared in the hallway.

"We need to get you guys to a doctor and figure out what's going on." Ecklie said firmly. At that moment, a piece of paper seemed to appear out of thin air, floating towards the ground as if someone dropped it from the florescent lighting. Morgan snatched it out of the air.

"What is that?" Sara asked.

"It says, 'You have 24 hours in these bodies before you are returned to your normal state. Don't live with regrets?' What's that supposed to mean?" Morgan wondered.

"We're going to be sixteen until this time tomorrow and then we go back to being adults." Greg said.

Morgan sighed and Greg got the impression she was annoyed.

"I meant the part that says don't live with regrets." She replied.

"I don't know, there's not much you can do as a sixteen year old in Vegas. At least, not legally…" He smiled slowly. Morgan laughed.

"I don't know about that, you guys." D.B. said hesitantly.

"Aw, c'mon! How many times do you get to be a teenager again?" Morgan asked. "Never!"

"Let's go!" Greg said, grabbing her by the hand and yanking her towards the parking garage.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Ecklie demanded.

"Being impulsive teenagers!" Greg replied, laughing. Morgan laughed with them as the disappeared.

"Should I be worried?" Ecklie asked the team.

"I don't know… and that's what worries me." Nick replied.

~XXXXX~

Greg and Morgan took his car to the strip. They drove up and down the streets, admiring the glittering lights and bright advertisements. Morgan took Greg to a store and they bought some better clothes; ones that fit with the times they were in.

"Let's go to a club." Morgan said with a laugh. Greg agreed, upscaling his look but keeping the piercings in. They were able to get into a club easily enough with their IDs, even though the bouncer frowned at them doubtfully. They still looked enough like themselves to not raise suspicions.

"If anyone asks, plastic surgery." Morgan said as they ordered drinks.

"Obviously." Greg replied as they sat at the counter and drank some liquid courage before making their way onto the dance floor.

"I wish they'd had parties like this when I was young. I would have _loved_ it." Greg said. Morgan grinned as they danced next to one another, lights flashing, lasers moving around and electronic music vibrating through the club. Neither one of them kept track of time, ordering more crazy mixed drinks and dancing until they were dizzy.

Greg frowned when he noticed another guy dancing really close to Morgan, trying to move in on her if he wasn't constantly watching. Even when he was watching, the guy never drifted far. Greg had to go to the bathroom, and Morgan insisted that it was safe, but he didn't want to leave her on the dance floor.

"You promise you won't leave me?" He asked.

"Never!" Morgan agreed. Greg reluctantly went; all the alcohol had gotten to him, he was definitely tipsy and wouldn't be able to drive legally for a while. When he came back out, he immediately panicked. He couldn't find Morgan. She wasn't at the bar, she wasn't in the spot she promised she'd be and when he raced to the women's restroom and asked the girl's coming out if a girl matching her description was inside, they all said no.

He went back to the dance floor, looking for her in desperation, wondering how it was possible that he would make such a stupid decision to leave her alone when he knew, as an adult, that it was a bad idea. _Teenage me did this, I just assumed it would be all right,_ Greg thought. He asked the bartenders and the bouncer.

The bouncer had an answer. "Yeah, this guy was helping her. She seemed out of it, she looked like she had way too much to drink. He said he was going to take her somewhere to sober up."

Greg got the description from the bouncer, closed out his tab, and raced out of the club. He called Morgan, but she didn't answer.

"Shit, what have I done?" He muttered as a crowd of people pushed around him, making their way up and down the strip without regard to him.

~XXXXX~

"Hey, I want to go back to my friend." Morgan insisted to the guy that was leading her along. She wasn't very clear on his name, but he was sort of cute.

"Don't worry about him, I'm just going to take you someplace nicer than that club." The guy replied with a smile. Even though she was drunk, she frowned.

"You…I don't think this is a good idea. I don't want to go anywhere else." Morgan said, wiggling out of his grasp. He grabbed her wrist roughly.

"Ow!" She gasped.

"Listen… you're coming with me." He said.

"Let go!" Morgan cried out, trying to wrench her wrist out of his hand. No one on the street paid any attention to her. They all walked passed as if she wasn't even there. She started to feel dizzy; the sidewalk moved beneath her feet and she slumped to the ground. The guy reached down and lifted her off of the sidewalk, holding her up as he walked with her along the sidewalk.

"No." Morgan said, trying to push him off. He ignored her and she felt so odd that she didn't trust her own legs to hold her up. She was still clutching her bag and suddenly remembered her phone, but she couldn't reach for it without drawing attention to herself.

 _Alcohol doesn't make me this dizzy, I didn't have that much to drink!_ She thought, trying to work her way through her sluggish thoughts.

 _He drugged my drink._ The thought popped into her head clear as day. It was the only explanation that made sense. She'd only had three drinks and she was barely able to keep herself upright. He dragged her into a hotel/casino. She didn't see the name of it as he walked her through the lobby.

 _Oh God, oh god, why am I so stupid?_ Morgan wondered. She knew it had something to do with being a teenager again, but that didn't help her at the moment. Her head felt so heavy and it was difficult to focus or hold it up.

"I don't…want…" Morgan started to say, but her world started to shrink before her eyes, until nothing was left but a pinprick of light.

~XXXXX~

"What would a CSI do?" Greg wondered desperately. He stood on the sidewalk, trying to clear his mind and think it through. Then he realized she probably still had her phone, and as long as it was on…

"GPS!" He hissed. He used the track a friend feature on his phone and found Morgan's moving dot. She was blocks away. He ran in that direction, not trusting himself to drive without causing damage. He made sure to take the well-lit areas of the strip.

He ran until he froze in front of the Tangiers. Morgan's dot stopped here, and it was moving around inside. He raced inside the hotel and decided to call the police; specifically, her father.

The phone rang twice and Ecklie answered, to his relief.

"Sanders… what mess are you getting yourself into?" Ecklie wondered.

"Some guy… took Morgan out of the club we were at. I used the GPS to follow them to the Tangiers, but I won't be able to tell what level they're on. He was being really weird at the club and I know he's got something bad in mind." He gasped into the phone.

Ecklie muttered a few choice words before reassuring Greg that he would get Russell to use their sophisticated programs to determine her altitude.

"I'm coming down there." He said, before hanging up. Greg ran up to the approximate place where the dot was and pounded on the door. An old man answered and told him to "Fuck Off" before slamming the door in his face.

Not wanting to waste time, Greg ran upstairs and started trying each door near Morgan's dot. He'd go up every single floor until he found her. Luckily, he didn't have too. Within five minutes of his conversation with Ecklie, Russell texted him.

"She's on the 10th floor." Greg used the elevator, which was faster than the stairs. He texted Ecklie the location, wishing more than anything he had his gun. As soon as he was on the 10th floor, he ran to the room where he knew the guy had taken Morgan and pounded on the door, making sure to stay away from the view of the peep hole. Of course, no one answered, so he continued pounding on the door.

He didn't have the physical strength to kick the door down, so he ran to the end of the hall, where he saw the axe. Of course, it was behind glass and it had a small tool that said, "Break in case of fire" but Greg ignored that. He broke the glass and removed the axe. An alarm went off, but he ignored it, running back to the room.

He aimed the axe at the keycard lock, lifted it and swung down as hard as he could.

~XXXXX~

Morgan woke up when she heard the sound of metal grinding on metal. She gasped when she saw the guy standing in front of her in his boxers. Her dress had been removed and she was in her bra and underwear. She tried to push herself up, but her arms wouldn't move.

"No…." She gasped. The guy was staring at the door. Morgan moved her head to look at it as well. She heard the noise again. At first, she couldn't figure out what it was. The guy reached out to grab her, when she saw it.

An axe split through the lock and the door was kicked in violently. If she didn't feel as though she'd been removed from her body, she would have smiled. Greg stood there, holding an axe and looking more than a little terrifying, even as a sixteen year old.

"Get the hell away from her you sick pervert." Greg snarled, holding the axe up threateningly. The guy started to back away from her. Morgan could hear shouts from down the hall and an alarm going off. She tried to push herself up, but only managed to roll over and onto the floor on the other side of the bed.

She saw her dress crumpled on the floor there. She clawed for it when she heard the guy make a noise and run. She couldn't see what was happening and had to lay there and listen. She heard a loud crack and then a low, scary laugh…from Greg.

"You think a chair leg is going to do anything?" Greg asked mockingly.

"FREEZE! Weapons down! Everyone put their hands in the air!" Morgan struggled back into her dress, managing to wiggle back into it only through sheer force of will. Luckily for her, it didn't require any zipping or buttoning. She clawed her way up the bed for support.

"Morgan?"

She looked up to see her dad standing there, pointing a gun at the man Officer Mitchell was handcuffing. Greg had put the axe down on the bed and had his hands in the air.

"Greg saved me." She said breathlessly, looking up at him with a smile. Greg moved forward and scooped her up into his arms, easily adjusting to carry her weight. She curled into him easily, leaning her head into his shoulder.

"Did he…?" Greg asked.

"No… he didn't. He was going to, but you got here in time." Morgan said.

"We need to get her to a hospital, just in case." Ecklie said as they dragged the guy out of the room. He got on his phone to call an ambulance. Greg wanted to stop him, but realized he might still be too drunk to drive.

"Dad, can you drive us?" Morgan asked drowsily from Greg's shoulder.

"Sure, honey. I can do that."

When they got to the hospital, they tested Morgan's blood and it came back positive for GHB, the date rape drug. She denied a sexual assault kit, saying that she wasn't assaulted. Ecklie took them back to the club so that Greg could get his car. Ecklie drove Morgan home.

Greg sat in his car in the parking garage, feeling like the biggest failure. He'd left Morgan alone in a club and she'd almost gotten date raped by some random guy! He felt hot tears gather in the corner of his eyes, when his phone beeped. He stared down at it. It was a text from Morgan, asking him to come to her place.

"I don't want to be alone." She wrote.

~XXXXX~

Greg was at Morgan's apartment in less than fifteen minutes. She let him in with a smile.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Sleepy. Like I should go to bed, even though I'm not tired. I've been drinking tons of water since I left the hospital, but I don't know if that helps."

"Morgan, I'm so sorry I left you, it was so stupid." Greg said.

"It's not your fault. It's that guy's fault for being a creepy weirdo." She said. She frowned at her own choice of words.

"I still feel guilty." Greg said. Morgan wrapped her arms around him.

"Don't, please? I couldn't stand it if you felt guilty because of someone else's behavior." She murmured. She'd already taken a shower and was wearing pajamas. She had no makeup on and her hair was still damp. Greg thought she was beautiful and perfect.

"I'm tired of being sixteen." Greg said quietly, holding her face in his hands.

"Me too." Morgan agreed.

Apparently, that was all that was needed to break the spell early, because Greg blinked and was staring at adult Morgan. Unfortunately for him, his clothes didn't grow to fit his adult musculature. His shirt ripped right down the middle of his chest and his pants ripped down the sides.

"Uhh…" Greg froze and stared down at his clothes. Morgan chuckled.

"I like you better this way." She said.

"What, as an adult?" Greg asked, kicking his shoes off since they felt awkward and didn't quite fit correctly anymore.

"That… and only partially clothed." Morgan said, pulling his ripped shirt off of him. Greg wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a gentle kiss.

"Stay with me?" Morgan whispered in his ear when they pulled away from one another.

"Always." Greg agreed as they moved to the bedroom.


	13. Frozen & Thawed

**Author's Note: I saw this prompt on OTP Prompts on Tumblr quite a while ago, and I liked it, but I didn't use it until now. The general idea is that either Person A (or B) falls into an icy river/body of water. How does the other person react? Well, now you shall see! Also, if you're a Morganders fan, you should be checking Twitter for pictures and stuff. It might tide you over until the finale (assuming they're going to put it in the show….) Also, for the sake of the story, we're going to say this takes place in the middle of autumn.**

Greg and Morgan responded to the scene, which was at an unusually high elevation in Red Rock Canyon. Despite the fact that it was late October, at elevations that high, there was already snow and ice blanketing the area.

"Who goes camping when it's this cold?" Morgan wondered as they parked the Denali next to David's Coroner van.

"People who'd rather bundle up against the cold than strip down for the heat during summer, I guess. It wouldn't be too hot up here during summer, though." Greg said. He grabbed his kit and slammed the door shut.

"I always prefer warm weather to cold weather. Give me summer over winter any day of the week." She said, as they ducked under the crime scene tape to process the scene.

"I like autumn the best. It's not too hot, not to cold and my allergies don't go crazy and try to kill me." Greg replied.

"Yes! Spring would be perfect if it weren't for pollen." Morgan sighed. "Plant sperm."

Greg snorted with laughter and she smiled.

"Hey guys!" Dave said, standing near a middle aged man, wearing nothing but his boxers, sprawled out on the snow. His body was bluish-gray.

"Hey, Dave. Wow, the poor guy looks like he froze to death." Morgan said.

"I don't know about that. His liver temp was 70 degrees, but the cold could make it difficult to determine time of death. I'll get Nick to analyze the weather patterns up here and extrapolate time of death that way. Look at this." Dave rolled him, revealing a nasty head wound. Greg snapped a photo of it.

"His camp is up that way." Dave said, pointing up a small ridge near some trees.

"Right then, we'll get started." Greg said. He and Morgan went to the camp together. They found a tent, evidence of a fire that had died out, and other camping gear. They started processing and collecting evidence from the camp site and planned to move down to where the body ended up.

"Hey, Greg, look at this!" Morgan said, waving him over. She set her camera down on her kit. Greg walked over to see what she was pointing at. Just under the ridge, on the opposite side, was a narrow creek that was completely frozen over.

"Wow." Greg said. She was pointing at a blood pool near the bank.

"Maybe that's where he got his head wound?" Morgan suggested.

"Yeah, or it could be from an animal. I guess we should go check." Greg said. Morgan picked up her camera and they took their kits down to the frozen creek to get closer pictures of the blood. When they got there, though, they realized the creek was wider than it looked. There was no realistic place to cross to get to the other side where the blood pool was without walking across the frozen creek.

"I'll do it." Morgan volunteered, looking for a narrow place to cross.

"Are you sure? We don't know how frozen this is." Greg said.

"How else are we going to get over there?"

"Yeah…we'd probably have to walk a mile or two in each direction to get to a crossing point." Greg agreed, looking up and down the creek. "It's just, these things can look frozen but be really unstable." He said.

"I'll be careful. Besides, I weigh less than you, so it'll be more likely to support my weight." She said. Greg agreed, although he didn't like it. Morgan held her camera above her head and gingerly stepped out onto the ice.

It seemed to support her weight just fine, so she made her way slowly across the surface. Greg could hear small cracks as she walked across, but figured that had to be normal. She was in the middle of the creek when the ice suddenly caved in on her.

~XXXXX~

Morgan didn't scream, in fact she didn't make much noise at all. She went from standing on the surface, holding her camera up in the air, to being chest deep in icy cold water. She inhaled sharply and turned to face Greg. She still held the camera in the air, protecting it from the water.

"Crap!" Greg hissed, putting his camera down on a tree stump and getting as close to the bank as he could. Morgan tossed the camera at him and he caught it, putting it next to his. He went back to her.

"Morgan, are you okay? Could you pull yourself out?" Greg asked desperately. Morgan was hyperventilating, breathing in short quick gasps.

"I….maybe…" She shivered and her teeth chattered.

"Don't breathe like that… try to take slow, deep breaths. You could pass out." Greg said anxiously. Morgan tried to regulate her breathing, but the shock of the cold knocked the wind out of her lungs and it felt as though a leather belt had been strapped over her chest and was being tightened.

She put her hands on the surface of the ice and tried to push herself up, but the sides of the ice simply cracked and broke off, leaving her with nothing to support her weight. Greg got onto his stomach and scooted out as far as he could and still maintain his balance. He held out his arms and Morgan scooted closer and grasped them.

Greg pulled back, hauling Morgan out of the ice and pulling her across the remainder of the bank and back onto land. Morgan whimpered and shivered, her teeth chattered.

"It's okay, I got you." Greg said, getting up and pulling her up into his arms, holding her up.

"Greg… I need warm clothes. I don't have a change of clothes in the Denali," she mumbled, her lips already had a grayish cast to them.

"I do," Greg said.

~XXXXX~

Dave had left with the body and Greg managed to get Morgan back to the Denali in minimal time by walking around the ridge. He left the cameras behind, his only thoughts on Morgan.

"You were only in the water for a couple of minutes, you shouldn't be hypothermic," Greg said. "But you need to get out of the wet clothes."

He opened the Denali and put her in the backseat. He jumped into the car and turned on the heater, pointing it at Morgan. She shakily peeled off her jacket, shoes, and socks. She struggled to unbutton her pants, but her fingers shook so badly that she couldn't get a grip on them.

"Uhh, do you want help?" Greg asked from the front seat.

"Yes," she said, frustrated almost to tears. Greg climbed into the back seat and she peeled off her shirt, throwing it on top of her jacket. She wore a tank top underneath it, so she peeled that off, too. Greg gently reached over and unbuttoned her pants, idly wishing it was for other reasons. Morgan struggled and wiggled out of them, piling them next to the other wet clothes.

"Here, I'll do this," Greg said. He climbed out of the car and went to the back. He grabbed the blanket and his change of clothes and brought them to her. He held up the blanket for modesty.

"Thank you." He heard Morgan say. He listened to her move around and put on his clothes.

"You can lower the blanket." She said. He did, putting it on her lap. She sat there, wearing his t-shirt and jeans. She wasn't shivering anymore and her lips weren't bluish-gray. The Denali heated up quickly and the windows were starting to fog up.

"We still have a scene to process." Morgan said.

"Not until you're okay." Greg promptly replied. She smiled slowly and sighed, tilting her head back.

"Maybe I should take you to the hospital, just to make sure." Greg said.

"No! I would feel stupid. Besides, I'm feeling better. I wasn't in the water long enough to get hypothermic and my legs aren't even numb."

"Okay, but if you start to feel funny please tell me." Greg insisted.

"Where are you going?" She asked, as he opened the door. He turned on the radio to her favorite station.

"I'm going to get your camera and bring it back. Then, I'm to start processing the scene. You're going to stay here."

"Hey, I could help!" Morgan insisted.

"No, you can't. You don't have any shoes to wear." Greg said, pointing at her bare feet. She glared over at his shoes.

"I could try. I could borrow your spare ones."

"What size shoe do you wear, Morgan?" Greg asked.

"Seven…sometimes a six-and-a-half, depending on the brand." She said.

"I wear a size twelve in men's." Greg replied. He closed the door, trapping the warmth in the Denali. Morgan tried to fit Greg's spare shoes onto her foot. They were so big that they fell off, even when she laced them up.

"Well, fine then." She muttered, climbing up into the front passenger seat to get closer to the heat.

~XXXXX~

Greg processed the scene on his own, gathering the camping gear. He took a picture of the blood pool and used rocks several yards away to walk across the bank and get a sample. When he loaded up the Denali, he found Morgan asleep in the front passenger seat, with the heat turned down and the radio turned to a classical music station. He smiled at her, her cheeks flushed from the heat. He removed the blanket and folded it up, putting it in the back.

He took her wet clothes and draped them over the seats so they would dry faster, pausing to admire her bra and underwear only briefly. Once the Denali was ready to go, he got into the driver's seat and buckled his seatbelt. He pushed Morgan's hair off of her face and she stirred.

"Hmm?" She smiled in her sleep, curling her hand near her face. Greg sat there, admiring her for a few minutes before pulling back and turning around to head back to Vegas.

Morgan slept until they got back into town. Greg was in the drive through at a local coffee place.

"What?"

"I thought I'd get you a pick me up. What do you want?" He asked, pointing at the menu. Morgan sleepily told him her order.

She tried to reach into the back for her clothes to get money, but Greg waved her hand away, paying for both of their drinks. Greg handed her the drink and she immediately took a swig with a smile. They pulled away from the drive through and drove towards the lab.

"How am I going to get back into the lab?" Morgan wondered, wiggling her bare toes at Greg.

"Don't worry, I have that figured out." He said. She smiled, and pointed at her toenails.

"That's the polish you gave me for Christmas last year." She said. Greg smiled.

"It looks perfect on you."

"You're so sweet. You bought me a hot chocolate and let me use your clothes and saved me from hypothermia." Morgan said happily as they pulled into the spot in the parking garage.

"Well, hopefully you don't get annoyed by what I'm about to do. Do you have a change of clothes in your locker? And shoes?" He asked.

"Yes." Morgan said, finishing her drink.

"Good." Greg said, taking her empty cup. He threw it away in the trash can near the Denali. He came around to her side.

"What are you doing?" She asked. He unbuckled her seatbelt and lifted her into his arms as if she were a baby or a bride being carried over the threshold of a house.

"Greg!" She gasped.

"I'm carrying you to the locker room." He said, locking the Denali to make sure the evidence was safe until he came back to get it.

"But…you could just go get my shoes and I could walk." She insisted.

"I like this better." Greg replied. She smiled slowly before leaning forward and giving him a peck on the cheek. He looked at her in surprise.

"Thank you." She said quietly, curling into his shoulder. Greg beamed and carried her to the elevator, where they went up to the lab. The elevator opened and he stepped out. Nick and Hodges were standing nearby, talking about something. Nick saw him first. He stopped talking and stared at Greg in alarm.

"What..? Is Morgan okay?"

Hodges looked over quickly to see Greg holding her.

"She's fine. She fell into an icy creek and got her clothes all wet. They're still drying, so since she didn't have any spare, I let her use mine. She didn't have any spare shoes, so I'm carrying her to the locker room so she wouldn't have to walk barefoot in the parking garage and the lab." Greg said.

"It's nice." Morgan said, lifting her head. "You smell good." She said to Greg, who grinned.

Hodges and Nick stared open-mouthed as Greg carried her to the locker room, where he deposited her on the bench in front of her locker. She reached up and took his hand in hers.

"Can we talk…later?" She asked.

"Of course." Greg said. She stood up and kissed him on the cheek.

"And maybe go out for a beer?" She asked quietly.

"Yes." Greg agreed, a huge smile spreading over his face.


	14. Bad Trip, Nice Fall

**Author's Note: So I've been re-watching episodes of CSI and this particular story was inspired after I watched Season 14, Episode 9: Check In and Check Out. That's the episode when Hodges and Henry go to the infamous room 114 at the Skyview Motel. As I re-watched that scene, I thought… what would have happened if it were Greg and Morgan in the room instead of Hodges and Henry? So…. That's what I've done!**

Greg and Morgan went back to the motel to look for something, anything that might be causing the people in room 114 to become violent. So far, they had no reason to believe that any of the people who'd been in the room would have normally behaved in such violent ways.

Morgan started near the bed and Greg took the bathroom. She took samples of the mattress, the carpet, the carpet pad and even tested the walls to see if she could find anything unusual.

"So, what do you think is causing this?" Greg called from the bathroom.

"I don't know. A toxin, maybe? Mold? Fungus? This place isn't exactly five-star quality, who knows what's growing behind the walls and in the ventilation system." Morgan answered as she put a piece of carpet into an evidence bag.

"Yeah, the pipe in this sink is pretty disgusting." He replied. He stood up to look around and grimaced when the automatic air freshener sprayed him in the face. He wiped his face and continued working, collecting water samples from the sink and the tub. He swabbed the faucets for each, making sure to put the samples and swabs back into the kit.

Morgan took a sample of the bed covers, even though they were recently replaced, just in case. She test the vents and didn't find anything. She even tested the air conditioning unit installed near the window. She scanned the room one last time and realized she missed something. Morgan opened the closet and held out the mold tester, which beeped and showed a positive result. She sighed.

"Hey, Greg? I got mold in the closet, I think I'm going to have to take a sample of the dry wall. Do you have the pry bar in your kit?" She stared at the wall for a moment, but Greg didn't respond. The bathroom door was open, but from where she was standing, she couldn't see inside.

"Greg? Do you have the pry bar?" She asked again. After receiving no response, she put down the mold tester, switching it off.

"Greg…? Are you taking a nap in there?" She walked towards the bathroom to check on him and to see if the pry bar was there. She peered around the corner and saw the kit, with the pry bar sitting right on top.

She sighed and turned to ask Greg what was wrong, when she frowned. He was standing in front of the mirror, glaring at it.

"Greg?"

He didn't say anything. Instead he reached up and grabbed the sides of the mirror. His breathing sounded funny and his eyes looked different. Morgan felt a sickening chill go over her; she'd never seen a look like that in Greg's eyes before in the years she'd known him. They were wild and cold all at once; his jaw was clenched and a thin sheen of sweat coated his face. The whites of his eyes were bloodshot, but his pupils were so large that his eyes looked black.

"Greg?" She whispered. His eyes suddenly focused on her reflection in the mirror. He bared his teeth at her and a low guttural growl came from his throat. His grip on the sides of the mirror tightened.

"I see it." His voice wasn't its usual, soothing deep tone. It sounded as though he had gravel in the back of his throat.

"What?" Morgan asked, taking a slow step backwards toward the door.

"I know what it really is." Greg snarled. Suddenly he brought back his fist and punched the mirror as hard as he could. The entire thing shattered, pieces of it landing in the sink and on the floor. Blood in the shape of his fist sat on what remained of the frame and the mirror. Morgan yelped and jumped.

"Greg…what's wrong with you? What happened?" Obviously whatever was making people crazy was in the bathroom, but she couldn't figure out the source. Blood dripped onto the floor from his fist and she could see small pieces of mirror imbedded in the wounds on his knuckles.

"Do you KNOW WHAT I SEE EVERY DAY?" He roared, slowly walking closer towards her. Morgan looked at the pry bar and then back at him.

"No, what do you see?" She asked, inching towards it.

"I see them. I see the dark shadows that sit at the corners of existence, preying on the negativity of the world, feeding on it and getting stronger. People believe in things like the devil and their belief in him and his influence gives him power over them. Do you understand me?" He whispered, his voice going quiet.

"Yes." Morgan said, wanting to agree just so that he wouldn't get violent again.

"NO YOU DON'T BECAUSE YOU DON'T SEE THEM. I ALWAYS SEE THEM, I'VE SEEN THEM SINCE I WAS OLD ENOUGH TO FORM MEMORIES!" Greg screamed, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her roughly. Morgan winced.

"Greg, that hurts!" An odd look passed over his face. He tilted his head to the side and looked at her with his black eyes. He blinked furiously and let go.

"Get out." He whispered.

"What?"

"Get out…. There is something inside of me that will hurt you. GET OUT!" He yelled, grabbing her again. She lunched for the pry bar, but Greg lifted her of the ground and slammed her into the other mirror. She screamed, tears rolling down her face. Greg made a choking noise and squinted at her. She could see some kind of mental conflict tearing him apart. She kicked him and he dropped her. She fled the room and slammed the door shut, grabbing a chair and shoving it under the doorknob.

She heard a tortured yell come from the bathroom. She jumped when something large and heavy struck the door, probably Greg with the pry bar. Shaking, she pulled out her radio and called for backup.

"Send medics, Greg's gotten violent and crazy!" She cried.

~XXXXX~

The police arrived and sent Morgan out of the room. The paramedics arrived shortly after. They looked over Morgan, but didn't find any injuries. They went inside the hotel room and she waited by the Denali. She didn't even hear someone drive up.

"Morgan? Are you okay?"

She looked up to see Nick, looking concerned. Russell came out of the car, too.

"What happened?" He asked.

Morgan summarized the events, describing Greg's quick descent into madness. "I don't know. He just…he wasn't Greg anymore." She said. They heard yelling in the hotel room. Nick and Russell went to help. Morgan grabbed a swab, hoping that once they had Greg strapped down, she could get a sample and have Henry run a battery of tests on it, but she didn't want to go back into the room and see Greg like that again.

Nick and Russell entered the motel room. The police were standing back. Officer Akers had a Taser pulled out, and one of the paramedics was holding a syringe of something. The other officer had his phone out, but no one paid him much attention. Greg stood there, blood on both hands, glaring at them. He grinned, his mouth filled with blood.

He lifted the pry bar. He'd torn his way through the bathroom door with it, leaving a huge human sized hole. He opened his mouth and let out a noise that neither Nick nor Russell had ever heard another human make. He swung the pry bar at one of the paramedics, who dodged it and stabbed him in the neck with the syringe. The other paramedic pulled the pry bar out of his hand when he was busy yelling at the paramedic. The whole thing reminded Nick of that movie, 28 Days Later. Greg reminded him of the zombies.

It took two paramedics, Officer Akers and Nick to restrain Greg completely. Nick stared at his friend, not believing his now unfamiliar looking face. The whites of his eyes were the color of blood and the irises were black. He was breathing raggedly from clenched teeth as he glared into Nick's eyes.

"Greg, man, c'mon!" Nick said. Greg's response was to attempt to savagely bite him before his eyes suddenly rolled back into his head and all his muscles relaxed. He slumped forward and the paramedics put him on a stretcher. When they wheeled him out, Morgan came forward and got a saliva sample. Greg moaned and rolled his head back and forth.

The paramedics rushed him to the hospital and Morgan rushed back to the lab to get tests run.

~XXXXX~

Once Morgan dropped the sample off, she went back to the hospital to get an update. Henry got the test results back quickly and rushed to the hospital to let Morgan, Nick and Russell know.

"Greg was dosed with a very high level of LSD, a type that was cut with… PCP." Henry said. Nick groaned. Morgan sighed.

"Did we discover the source?" Russell asked.

"No, but Hodges and I could go back with masks and suits and analyze the bathroom." Henry offered.

"That sounds great, you two do that. Thank you." Russell said. Henry left.

"Nick, could you go with him, just in case they do find something?" Russell asked.

"Sure thing." Nick agreed and left to follow Henry.

"Morgan, are you okay?" Russell asked.

"Sure, I'm fine. I'm more worried about Greg." She said.

"You're sure? I mean, seeing a friend like that can be traumatic, especially since he physically attacked you." Russell said quietly.

"Considering how the other victims turned out, I think I was lucky. I don't even have any cuts, just some bruises. You know, I could see… something inside of Greg, fighting it. He was fighting the paranoia, the urge to be violent. It was actually kind of amazing." She said. Russell smiled.

"Greg's a strong guy. Could you stay here with him and update us on his situation?" Russell asked.

"Definitely." Morgan agreed.

~XXXXX~

Morgan sat by Greg's hospital bed, watching him sleep. His face was relaxed, nothing like it had been earlier. She knew that the only reason he'd acted that way was because he'd been dosed with drugs, and she couldn't and wouldn't blame him for his actions, but every time she closed her eyes, she saw the terrifying look in his eyes back in the motel bathroom.

He had an IV in his arm, pumping him full of fluids and the doctors explained that it would be a few hours before Greg came out of his sedation and the effects of the drugs wore off. Nick texted Morgan video of Greg's apprehension; apparently the second officer with Akers had filmed it for evidence. She watched the video. Greg looked vicious and she could see the hole in the door that he'd created. She watched him try to take a chunk out of Nick after the paramedic sedated him.

She put her phone away and sighed. Morgan took Greg's hand in hers and rested her head against the side of his bed to wait out the sedation. It seemed as though only minutes passed, but later when she checked the clock, she realized it had been an hour and a half. Morgan stirred when she felt movement and she lifted her head to stare up at Greg, whose eyes were open and looking at her.

They were the kind, beautiful brown eyes she was used too. The ones that she sought for comfort more than once, the ones that made a small blossom of warmth spread through her chest every time she saw them. That warmth spread through her chest now.

"Greg, you're awake! How are you feeling?" She asked, still holding his hand. He looked down at her hand, gripping his. His knuckles were wrapped in bandages and a little blood showed through.

"Confused. I… don't think I'm remembering what happened correctly." He said slowly.

"What do you remember?" Morgan prompted.

"I was standing in the bathroom, frozen and unable to move. This big shadow figure went on a rampage and I tried to stop him, but I couldn't. He… tried to attack you? That's what I remember, but I know it's impossible." Greg said. Morgan sighed and looked at his wounded hands.

"No, that's not what happened." Morgan said. "You were dosed with a mixture of LCD and PCP while in the bathroom. All those things the shadow monster did were things that you did."

Greg stared at her. He blinked slowly and abruptly removed his hands from hers, looking horrified.

"Greg, it wasn't your fault! I know you're going to feel guilty, but you can't. You weren't in control of yourself." Morgan insisted.

"I…hurt you, didn't I?" He said, his face pale.

"No, you didn't. I'm not hurt, you didn't hurt me!" Morgan said, sitting up straight, showing him that she was fine. Greg was shaking his head and she could see tears shining in his eyes.

"I remember what I did. I grabbed you…I slammed you into the mirror." His voice caught in his throat and he covered his face.

"You were not you and you didn't hurt me. I don't even have a scratch." Morgan said. "I will not let you beat yourself up over this when I didn't get hurt and I don't blame you for it. In fact, considering how horribly it went for all the other people dosed with that mixture, I would think that you'd be glad that you somehow managed to show restraint."

Greg removed his hands from his face to look at her. "Restraint?"

"Yes. I told you to stop, that it would hurt and you listened. I could see it in your eyes, you were fighting whatever the drugs were doing to your mind." Morgan said. Greg sighed and shook his head.

"Yes, but… it won't change the fact that I physically attacked you. If I had hurt you any worse, I…wouldn't be able to forgive myself." He said. He blinked and quickly wiped away a tear. Morgan leaned forward and put her hand on his face. He lifted his gaze to stare at her.

"Greg, you were a victim of something. This isn't your fault and I don't and won't blame you. I care about you and I can't stand the idea of you feeling horrible about something that wasn't in your control." Morgan said quietly.

He reached up and touched her hand, which was still on his face. "I'm so sorry for what I did. Please forgive me." He whispered.

Morgan leaned forward and pressed her lips against his, bringing up her other hand to cup his face. She pulled away after a moment to gauge his reaction. He looked surprised.

"You're forgiven, even though you don't need to be. As long as you're healthy and safe, that's all I need." Morgan said. He smiled and pressed his mouth against hers. When they pulled away, they studied each other.

"A hospital is not my idea of a first date. How about that new fusion restaurant downtown? When you're out of here and ready, of course." Morgan said.

"I'd go to a dumpster in an alley and be happy as long as you were there with me." Greg replied. Morgan felt her face flush. She kissed him again.

"Me too."


	15. Pool Party

**Author's Note: So, this was a prompt I got from blog OTP Disaster on Tumblr. It was posted on August 10** **th** **, but it was not specifically attributed to any user, so I don't know if the owner of the blog created the prompt, or if the submission was anonymous. Anyway, it sounded like a nice, fluffy prompt and since there are a few chapters in this that deal with violence and negative things happening, I thought I'd put a fluffy one in.**

 _ **Prompt: Person B spitting out their drink the first time they see Person A in a swimsuit and/or lingerie.**_

After a record setting summer, the city of Las Vegas decided to throw a party for law enforcement personnel. They wanted to show their appreciation for a lower crime rate as well as a record number of solved and processed cases. Las Vegas was one of the few cities in the nation that wasn't behind in processing evidence in both current cases and ones that had gone cold.

To celebrate, they rented out the pool and several ballrooms in the Eclipse casino. Caterers were hired and everyone at the Crime Lab, as well as police officers and detectives, were given an afternoon to relax with one another while cadets and others patrolled the streets.

Greg stretched out on one of the lounge chairs by the pool. Nick lounged in one of the chairs next to him, with Henry and Hodges on the other side of Nick. They each had a beer and Greg and Nick had food on a plate on the small table between them. It was still summer, so they were wearing their swimsuits. Hodges and Henry couldn't be talked into going shirtless around all the other law enforcement personnel.

Greg decided he didn't care about the scars on his back and took his shirt off, tossing it to the side near his towel. He wasn't ashamed of them and if anyone asked, he'd tell the truth.

"Hey, did you see Xiomara?" Nick asked the three of them.

"No, why?" Hodges wondered, taking a swig of beer.

"Just look for her. You'll see." Nick said with a smile. Greg smirked when he saw both Hodges and Henry start scanning the pool area for Xiomara. He elbowed Nick, who chuckled.

"Hey, there she is." Greg said, spotting her by the bar. He had to admit, she looked quite nice. She wore her bathing suit with a sheer wrap around it.

"Wow…" Henry said quietly, his voice trailing away.

"You should go talk to her, Henry." Nick said.

"No way, why would I do that?"

"Clearly, you want to." Greg said.

"Sure, but look. Sean Yeager from days is talking to her right now. Why would Xiomara talk to me when Yeager's over there?" Henry asked.

Greg laughed and got up. He felt comfortable enough around the three of them to not worry about the scars on his back, so he stretched and grabbed his beer.

"Where are you going?" Henry asked, sounding mildly panicked. Greg turned to stare back at him. Hodges was smirking now.

"To recycle my beer and get another one…and maybe talk to Xiomara, since you won't." He said. Henry's mouth fell open in surprise and Greg waved the empty beer at him. He turned back and walked towards the bar to get another one, spotting Sean and Xiomara right away.

He tossed his empty bottle and asked the bartender for another.

"Greg! How are you?" Xiomara asked.

"Great, how are you liking the party?"

"It's pretty nice. Yeager here is trying to convince be to join him in a game of water volleyball, but I heard that he cheats." Xiomara said. Sean held his hands up defensively.

"Me? Cheat at sports? Never!" He crossed his heart and smiled at her.

"I've never played sports with Sean, so I couldn't tell you. I bet Scott from days could." Greg said and Xiomara's smile grew wider.

"You're right! Maybe I should go have a little chat with Scott and ask him about your track record, hmm?" Xiomara teased.

"Aww, c'mon. It'll be fun. I promise, no cheating." Sean insisted. Xiomara studied him.

"Maybe in a few minutes, let me finish drinking." She agreed. Sean grinned and went to go find more players, leaving Xiomara and Greg at the bar.

"Hey, between you and me, you should go talk to Henry." Greg hissed quickly. Xiomara raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, really. Just don't tell him I sent you over. He'll probably think I did anyway." Greg said with a shrug. Xiomara laughed.

"Sure, I'll go have a chat with him. He's over by Nick and Hodges, right?" She scanned the crowd and found them.

"Yep." Greg agreed, taking a sip of beer.

"Right, then. Have fun!" Xiomara encouraged as she casually walked back over to her things. Greg leaned against the edge of the bar with his back facing the bartender as he looked out at the pool. After standing there for a couple of minutes, he thought about going back to get more food, when he spotted Morgan.

She was wearing a light wrap, covering her bathing suit and large sunglasses. She and Sara put their stuff down near Xiomara's things. Greg watched their conversation and noticed that Xiomara gestured in his direction. He looked over at Henry, who was still trying to subtly look at Xiomara without her noticing his stares. Sara went to get food, while Xiomara walked around the pool in Henry, Hodges and Nick's general direction.

Morgan came in his direction. Greg kept sipping on his beer until she got to the bar and ordered one for herself.

"Well, Sanders, I'd have to say this is the first time I've seen you shirtless and in shorts." Morgan said cheerfully, taking a sip of her beer. She pulled her sunglasses up onto her head.

Greg stared down at himself. He wasn't scrawny or anything. He had muscles, but he knew that compared to some of the other guys, he looked like nothing. Sean Yeager, for example, looked like a candidate for a male beauty pageant as he strutted around and showed off for anyone willing to pay attention. The fact that he was drifting back in their direction piqued Greg's frustration a little.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. I've never seen you in a bathing suit." Greg said. Morgan smiled. Sean Yeager appeared at the bar.

"Morgan, just the woman I wanted to see." He said with a charming smile.

"I'm not playing water volleyball with you, Scott says you cheat." Morgan said instantly. Sean put on a show of having hurt feelings.

"Well I say Scott's a liar, what about that?" Sean replied. Morgan tilted her head at him and sipped her beer.

"I'm not a water volleyball kind of girl, Sean. Now…. If you'd challenged me to a game of Chess, perhaps." Morgan said. Greg blinked and stared at Morgan. Sean looked baffled.

"Chess?"

"Yes! I love games focused on mental strategy, not physical exertion." Morgan said. "That's why billiards was always my thing in high school. Chess and billiards." Greg couldn't keep the smile off his face. Sean noticed.

"What?" Sean asked.

"Nothing." Greg said. "I was captain of the high school chess team."

Morgan turned to look at him in surprise. "You were? Oh, yeah! I remember that case we worked, how could I have forgotten? Too bad there's no chess board around here." Morgan said honestly.

Sean shook his head at both of them. "You two are true nerds. I have to recruit more people for this game, so… see ya later." He sauntered off. Morgan smiled at Greg, who was almost finished with his beer again. He took a last swig when Morgan spoke.

"So, you've never seen me in a bathing suit, huh?"

Greg looked at her curiously and she smiled. She put her beer on the counter, along with her sunglasses.

"Here I am in a bathing suit, then." She said, peeling off the wrap and dropping it on the counter next to her drink and sunglasses. It was a dark blue bikini that fit quite nicely and Greg's response was to spit out his beer in shock. He covered his mouth and Morgan laughed.

"Wow, I've never had a guy spit out his drink when he saw me in a bathing suit before." She said. Embarrassed, he tossed the bottle in the recycling bin and wiped his face with the back of his hand.

"Well, I didn't mean…that is to say, uhh…" Greg stammered as Morgan moved to stand next to him.

"Don't worry, I can tell you aren't disgusted by what you see." Morgan said amiably. Greg tried not to stare at her beautiful, smooth skin. He wanted so badly to reach out and put his hand on her stomach, but he knew that would be intrusive, especially since they were in public.

"Where are you sitting?" She asked. Greg pointed to the chair where Xiomara was now sitting, talking to Henry, who Greg could see was nervous, even from this far away.

"Well, I _was_ sitting over there, but I guess Xiomara took my place." Greg said. Morgan picked up her things and made a gesture indicating that he should follow her, so he did. There was an empty chair next to hers and he sat down on it. She reclined with a smile, stretching her legs. Sara returned with food.

"Hey, Greg! How's the party so far?"

"Pretty good."

"Is that beer on your chest?"

Greg felt a flash of embarrassment and Morgan giggled. Sara handed him a napkin with a perplexed look on her face.

"I know this was supposed to be the ladies section, but I assumed you wouldn't mind me dragging Greg over here." Morgan said. Sara smiled at Greg, a knowing look in her eye.

"I don't mind. As long as it isn't Yeager." She said. Morgan sighed.

"I don't understand what you have against him. Sure, he's rather aggressive and arrogant, but once you get past his attitude, he's not that bad." She insisted.

"I don't like having to get past a guy's personality or attitude to like him." Sara said. "At my age, those things are too much a part of who someone is and maybe as I've gotten older, I'm less willing to put up with stuff like that."

"Yeah, I can see that." Morgan said.

"Like Greg, for example. There's nothing that I feel like I have to fight through to find out whether or not I like him as a person." Sara said. "I know he's a good person and a good friend."

Greg smiled. "Thanks, Sara."

"You're welcome, now take some of this cantaloupe, I grabbed too much." She said, holding out her plate to him. Greg grabbed some and got up.

"More beer?" He asked and they both nodded. He walked back over to the bar and ordered more. Sean was there again, this time talking to Melissa from swing shift. She agreed to participate in his game and walked off as Greg approached.

"Sanders, I know you won't play, will you?" Yeager asked.

"No, thanks." Greg said, grabbing the beers and turning to go back to Sara and Morgan.

"Whoa, what's on your back?" Yeager asked. Greg knew that there were people still unfamiliar with the story. Morgan had known, but never saw the scars until now, but he was glad she hadn't made a huge deal about them.

"Uh, burn scars. I was in a lab explosion a long time ago." Greg said.

"Wow, in our crime lab?"

"Yeah, back in 2003. Someone else accidentally caused it and I was still a DNA guy at the time." Greg said.

"Must have been pretty bad to cause scars like that." Yeager said, sounding awed.

"It was… took me a couple of weeks to recover. I was launched through that big window in the DNA lab and landed in the hallway." Greg said. Yeager gave him a look that said he was sizing Greg up.

"You're like… the toughest nerd I've ever met."

Greg smiled. "Thanks, man."

"No problem." Sean walked off and Greg went to deliver the beers.

"What took so long?" Sara asked.

"Sean asked about my scars." He replied. Morgan raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but Greg quickly explained that it wasn't a bad conversation at all.

"I've never really seen them up close. Can I?" Morgan asked softly.

"Okay." Greg agreed, turning to let her look at them. She didn't make a sound and when he turned to see what she was doing, he saw tears glistening in her eyes. Sara was studying his back, too.

"God, I remember that. I still have the scar on my hand from the stitches." She said quietly. "Not that, that compares to anything Greg went through."

Morgan blinked the tears away and smiled at him.

"You're a tough guy, Greg Sanders." She said. He turned around and smiled at her.

"You're a tough woman, Morgan Brody." He countered. She pushed her lounging chair closer.

"Well, the King and Queen of Tough need to rule the pool accordingly, wouldn't you agree?" She asked, taking his hand in hers. Greg smiled down at it.

"Couldn't agree more." He said.


	16. Negative Reaction

**Author's Note: This is a prompt I got from OTP Prompts on Tumblr. It was posted Aug. 25 and submitted by a user called dawnfire-05. There was a suggested ending, but I didn't like it, so I'm not going to use it, so I left out the part of the prompt that had a 'bonus points' option at the end. The actual wording of the prompt is below, minus the bonus points ending….**

 _ **Prompt: Imagine Person A is allergic to some food item. A and B have started dating recently. B, not knowing that A is allergic to this food, has recently eaten it. They kiss A and A starts to have an allergic reaction. Where it goes from there is up to you.**_

Greg and Morgan had only been dating for about a month and they hadn't told anyone at work about it. There had been so many changes lately that it seemed as though it would only disrupt everything further if they revealed their relationship to everyone. So when they were at work, during shift, they did their best to act as though nothing had changed between them.

Morgan was sitting with Sara, eating her lunch. Greg wasn't sitting with them because he was in the DNA lab with Henry finalizing a case.

"What are you eating?" Sara asked curiously as she took a bite of her salad. Morgan had a container that had a few crackers, hummus, and grapes, cheese and shrimp salad. She showed Sara each thing and described what was in the shrimp salad.

"Hummus and crackers sounds good…" Sara said and Morgan smiled, taking a sip of her lemonade.

"Yeah, I've been trying to pack something other than a sandwich every day." Morgan said. They talked a little bit about their case, which they finished. Morgan ate all of her lunch, saving the shrimp salad for last since it was her favorite. When they were done, Morgan rinsed out her lunch container in the sink before putting it back into her lunchbox and going to check on Greg.

She wandered into the DNA lab, but only found Henry busy at work. He didn't even look up from the machine. Frowning, Morgan left the lab and walked by trace to see if Greg was there. She only saw Hodges using the GCMS, no Greg.

She was almost ready to text him, when she glanced at the locker room and saw him in there, putting away his jacket. Smiling she walked in and snuck up on him, throwing her arms around him in a hug when she was sure no one was looking.

Greg chuckled and returned the hug.

"How's your case?" Morgan asked.

"Pretty good. Hodges has some trace left to identify and it will help narrow down where our killer was." Greg said, closing his locker door.

"So good that you'll have time to go out later?" Morgan asked hopefully. Greg glanced up to make sure no one could see, before wrapping his arms around her.

"I always have time for you." He whispered. Morgan smiled, stood on her toes, and kissed him. They got lost in the kiss for a moment before pulling away. Greg smiled and she let go of him when she heard footsteps approaching the locker room.

"Hey, Morgan, do you know where Sara is?" Hodges asked, appearing in the doorway.

"I don't know, she just finished lunch a couple of minutes ago. We just finished up our case, so she should be free." Morgan replied.

"Great….Greg? Are you okay?" Hodges asked. Morgan spun to look at him. Greg was frowning slightly, his face looked a little red and his breathing was labored.

"Uhh…I don't know. I don't think so." He said, his voice sounding strange.

"You were fine just a second ago, what happened?" Morgan asked. She wanted to reach out to him, but she didn't want Hodges to see.

"I…" His breathing came in even heavier gasps and she noticed his lips starting to get puffy.

"Your lips are swollen." Hodges said. Greg's face was still red and he sat on the bench. His breathing started to sound a lot more like choking.

"Greg?" Morgan asked. She grabbed his face and stared into his eyes. His eyelids were swelling up and so were the sides of his face.

"Open your mouth." She demanded. He did and she saw the interior of it. It was bright red and his throat was swelling shut.

"Oh my god… he's having some kind of allergic reaction!" Morgan said to Hodges.

"I have an epi-pen, hold on!" Hodges said, racing away as fast as he could.

"Oh, Greg, what happened? What are you allergic too?" Morgan whispered. Greg's eyes were so swollen now that he couldn't open them and his breathing was coming in strangled gasps.

"Shellfish." He choked out.

"What?!" Morgan wailed. At that moment, Hodges came back with the epi-pen and tossed it at Morgan, who removed the cap and stabbed Greg in the thigh with it.

"Call for medics." Morgan commanded Hodges. "And when you get off the phone, call Russell and tell him!"

~XXXXX~

The epi-pen helped after a few minutes. The swelling went down considerably, but not completely. Morgan helped Greg walk to the front of the building, where paramedics showed up to check on him. They put him in the ambulance and hooked him up to monitors right away.

"I'm coming!" Morgan insisted, climbing into the ambulance with him. They raced to Desert Palm Hospital, where she was separated from Greg. Morgan cried as she paced in the waiting room, anxiously waiting to hear news.

After half an hour, Russell and Sara showed up in the waiting room to find Morgan, who had calmed down considerably during her wait.

"How is he?" Sara asked.

"I don't know, they kicked me out thirty minutes ago." She said.

"Well, thankfully Hodges had that epi-pen handy, so he should be fine. What happened, what did he react too?" Russell asked.

"Shellfish. Apparently he's allergic to it." Morgan said.

"He ate shellfish?" Sara asked, sounding confused.

"No, _I_ ate shellfish for lunch, remember? I must have gotten some on my hands or something. I touched Greg and he touched his face and I don't know…." Morgan said, anxiously trying to come up with a story that sounded plausible.

Apparently her story sounded believable enough because Sara nodded sympathetically and Russell smiled, giving her a pat on the shoulder. The doctor came out at that time.

"The people here for Greg Sanders?"

They rushed forward.

"How is he?" Morgan asked.

"He's stable and he's doing much better. That epi-pen saved his life. He said he had to have come into contact with shellfish somehow because that's the only thing he's allergic too. Do any of you know how that could have happened? Greg doesn't seem to know."

Morgan repeated the story she told Russell and Sara about eating it for lunch and then touching Greg.

"I didn't know he was allergic, I would never have gone near him without washing my hands if I had known." Morgan said, trying not to cry again.

The doctor nodded. "Well, now you know. You can go in and see him now, his swelling has gone down completely. He should go home and get some rest when we release him."

The three of them went into his room, where Greg sat propped up on the bed. He looked completely normal now, except for the fact that he had IV fluids going into his arm. They hadn't put him in hospital garb, so he was still wearing his clothes from earlier. He smiled at them when they walked in.

"Oh, Greg I'm sorry!" Morgan said, holding back her tears.

"What for?" He asked.

"It was me, I had shellfish for lunch." Morgan said, looking at him. He knew that the kiss had delivered trace amounts of it.

"I shouldn't have touched you without washing my hands, I didn't know!" Morgan said. Greg patted her arm.

"Don't blame yourself, I should have made everyone aware of it." Greg insisted.

"Well, we're glad you're okay." Russell said. "Do you have a way to get home? The doctor said you should rest."

"No, my car is still at the lab." Greg said.

"I'll take him home." Morgan insisted. "It's the least I could do."

"Sounds great. Feel better, okay?" Russell said.

"Sure." Greg agreed.

Sara gave his arm a pat. "We'll be more careful from now on… well, people who aren't vegetarians." She corrected. Greg smiled. Russell and Sara left the room. When they were out of earshot, Morgan burst into tears. Greg looked alarmed.

"What's wrong?"

"Greg, I almost killed you! You could've _died_ if Hodges didn't bring that epi-pen back in time." Morgan said, wiping the tears from her face. Greg sat on the bed, looking at her.

"I…yes, that's true. I could've died."

Morgan's chin quivered and he pulled her into a hug. "I didn't die, I'm fine. It's okay. I should have told you and everyone else. It's just not something that generally comes up during the course of our work, so I didn't think about it." Greg said.

Morgan sniffled. "I just… it was something so silly, so innocent. If you had died, I would never forgive myself."

Greg studied her. "I'm sorry for putting you through that. Are you allergic to anything?"

"Yeah, I'm allergic to penicillin, but I'm not allergic to food or anything." Morgan said. "Oh, and cottonwood trees, but those don't really grow around here, so that's not a problem."

Greg was about to say something when the doctor returned.

"It's time for you to go home. Get plenty of rest and drink a lot of water." He insisted as he took the IV out of Greg's arm. Once he'd filled out all the necessary paperwork, they started to walk out when Morgan stopped him.

"I rode with you in the ambulance, so my car isn't here, it's back at the lab."

Greg laughed and Morgan frowned in frustration. "Well, I could take a cab back to the lab and drive home." Greg said.

"No, you're on heavy doses of antihistamine. You could fall asleep any minute." She said. Morgan ended up calling a cab, which drove them back to the crime lab. She grabbed Greg's things from his locker while he waited in the car.

She walked with him up to his apartment and he collapsed onto the couch. Morgan immediately went to thoroughly wash her hands and brush her teeth with the spare toothbrush she'd left in Greg's medicine cabinet. She even gargled with mouthwash and used dental floss, just to make sure.

She walked back into the living room to see Greg, slumped sideways, fast asleep. He still had his shoes on. She smiled. Carefully, so she wouldn't wake him, she removed his shoes and socks and moved his legs so that he was stretched out on the couch. She put pillows under his head and tossed a light blanket over him.

She gave him a light kiss on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, Greg." She whispered. She caught the ghost of his smile as she turned out the light.


	17. Haunted

**Author's Note: So this didn't come from a prompt anywhere else, it's my own idea. It stems mostly from curiosity about Greg, especially regarding his psychic abilities. I know the show is devoted to forensic science, but I kind of wish they would have explored the whole psychic thing a little bit more instead of giving us bits and pieces only very rarely. So this comes from wishing there was more about that!**

Greg went rigid in the driver's seat of the Denali when he saw the house with police cruisers on the curb. Morgan had been telling him about this new scanner that the lab was using that took digital panoramic scans of the crime scene, but he stopped listening as he pulled up into the driveway.

There was nothing traditionally _spooky_ about the house. It was a ranch style sand-colored brick house with a large front lawn. Large windows sat on either side of the front door, but Greg felt the familiar prickling sensation on the back of his neck, the feeling that told him something in the house was _looking back at him_. Something not alive.

Morgan didn't seem to notice. She tucked her blonde hair behind her ear with a smile on her face. Greg tightened his grip on the steering wheel as he privately wished he could be blissfully oblivious to the feelings he got from some places.

"Let's go." Morgan said, jumping out of the passenger seat. Greg stared at the house, knowing that something studied him in return. He got out and went around back to grab his kit with Morgan. They entered the scene through the front door, which was blocked with crime scene tape.

Greg stumbled as he felt a wave of energy pass over him as soon as he stepped through the door. Morgan hadn't noticed, but Akers did.

"You okay? You look like your lunch isn't settling well."

"Oh, I'm fine." Greg replied quickly, struggling to maintain a neutral expression. The house was filled with the typical furniture of a middle-class family. Several couches, a flat screen television, book shelves and other mementos.

"The scene is in the back bedroom." Akers said, pointing down a long hallway. Greg felt the thing that was in the house. It was at the end of the hall and he had a strong feeling it was the person whose scene they would be processing.

~XXXXX~

Morgan led the way to the back of the house where their scene was located. Akers followed them, explaining the situation.

"So this is the home of the Wentworth family. Father, mother and two teenaged daughters. Father woke up and was doing something on the computer for work and the mother went to wake up the daughter when she made the discovery."

"Who's our victim?" Morgan asked.

"Her name is Camille Wentworth, age 16. She's the eldest daughter. The younger daughter is Nicole Wentworth, she wasn't home when this happened; she was staying the night at a friend's house a couple of blocks away." Akers explained.

Morgan turned to say something to Greg when she noticed he looked a little pale. He was being awfully quiet.

"You feeling okay?" Morgan asked. Greg turned to stare at her. Her stomach gave an unsettling spasm. The last time Greg had looked at her that way… was when he went back to the slaughterhouse to talk to the ghosts of victims during a case of a murdered ghost hunter.

"It's fine." He said quietly, without the usual smile on his face. They approached the bedroom.

"It's pretty awful." Akers said quietly. Morgan stepped into the room and grimaced. Camille was in bed, as if she were still asleep. The covers were pulled up to her abdomen. There was blood all over her chest and smeared on the bed sheets. There were small amounts of cast off on the wall behind the bed.

Akers left the room to let them process it on their own.

~XXXXX~

Greg stared at the room. Camille was dead in her bed, but she also stood in the corner of the room, staring at herself in bed. She turned to look at him. Her ghost eyes grew wide as Greg met her gaze.

"Can you see me?" She whispered. Greg glanced at Morgan, who was staring at him.

"What do you see?" Morgan asked.

"She's right there, Morgan. In the corner of the room, she just asked me if I can see her." Greg whispered, still staring at Camille. Morgan stared at the spot Greg looked at, but Greg could tell she saw nothing.

"You _can_ see me. Oh my God! You have to find out who did this!" She said.

"You don't know?"

"I can't remember, it's like… I don't know, I know who my family is and I remember my friends and school, but there are huge chunks of my memory that are missing. The longer I stand here like this, the worse it gets." She said in a rush.

"That's because you need to cross over." Greg told her. "You shouldn't stay here. We'll solve this."

"Cross over? You mean like… move on? Go to heaven or something?"

"Yes. You don't want to stick around." Greg said. Morgan watched as he had a conversation with nothing. Goosebumps rose on her arms and she looked over at Camille on the bed.

"Why not? Why can't I stick around?" She demanded, looking upset.

"Your memory…the missing pieces will only get worse. Then, you won't even remember why you wanted to stay, or that you aren't alive anymore and at that point, you can't cross over. You must accept that you have died." Greg said quietly.

Camille looked around her room. "But… what about my family? I'll miss everyone!"

"Of course you will, but staying here isn't the best way of doing that. You'll forget them too, eventually." Greg insisted.

"How… do I cross over?"

"Just accept that you are dead and it should start." Greg said. Morgan didn't see anything, but she saw a small smile appear on Greg's face.

"What's happening now?" Morgan whispered.

"Camille is crossing over. She wanted to stay, but I convinced her that would be a bad idea." Greg replied, staring at the empty spot on the room for a second longer, before looking back at her. Morgan went over to the spot he'd been staring at and the hairs on the back of her neck prickled as a wall of cold air hit her in the chest. She immediately felt uncomfortable.

"Is…she gone?" Morgan asked.

"Yes." Greg said quietly.

~XXXXX~

Greg and Morgan processed the scene, gathered all trace evidence and took everything back to the lab within several hours. They were mostly quiet while they processed the evidence, keeping their conversation to specifics about evidence they'd collected, prints they found and other details. It wasn't until they were back in the car and on their way back to the lab that Morgan brought it up again.

"I know we haven't really talked about… all of this since that case with the boys and those ghost hunters." Morgan said. Greg was driving. He nodded, but said nothing.

"That's never happened before, has it?"

"Seeing a victim at a scene? Yes, once before." Greg said. Morgan looked surprised.

"Was I with you?"

"No, this was when I was first becoming a CSI. I was just trying my hand at getting out into the field, trying to gain experience so that I could convince Grissom and your dad that I had what it took to be a CSI. They called us all to a bus accident, and I showed up totally unprepared. Nick helped me out, and I shadowed him the whole time." Greg said.

"You saw a ghost there?" Morgan asked quietly.

"Yeah, I saw several of them. Nick was talking to the bus driver and I was listening, but I could see them, standing there and looking lost. The people who'd died in the bus crash just wandered around. They didn't know I could see them. I was with Nick, who was questioning the driver. Then the guy starts coughing up blood and collapses while Nick is questioning him. I'm so busy watching his soul fly out from his chest that I didn't hear Nick yell at me to call the medics. He thought I froze up because of the blood, but it wasn't that." Greg said.

"Oh, God, Greg that must have been horrible for you!"

Greg smiled slowly before shrugging.

"Nick gathered some evidence and told me to rush it back to the lab, so I put it in my car and went back into the scene, found the ghosts and told them to cross over. I made sure I got all of them before I left." Greg said quietly. Morgan sat and stared out at the parking garage, where Greg had pulled into the designated spot.

"You're such a wonderful person, you know that? Instead of freaking out or pretending like you can't see them, you try to help them." Morgan said.

"So…you don't think I'm making it up?" Greg asked, looking down at his legs.

"No, of course not! Who thinks you're making it up?"

"Well, my father for one. He thinks it's some made up family thing from my Nana Olaf. I try not to tell anyone about it, as much as I can, because I know they wouldn't believe me. I'd rather not have to justify myself to people whose opinions I don't care about." Greg said.

"But you told me." Morgan said.

Greg was quiet. He turned the car off and turned to look at her.

"That's because I care about your opinion, Morgan. I had a feeling you would understand, somehow, and that you wouldn't antagonize me about it." Greg said. Morgan felt her face flush with pleasure.

"You care about _my_ opinion?"

"Of course I do. I like you." Greg said.

"Not to sound like we're in high school or anything, but what do you mean by like?"

Greg smiled. "Come here and let me show you."

Morgan leaned forward and he kissed her, pulling her face closer to his as their arms circled around once another in a tight embrace. When they pulled away, their faces only inches from one another, Morgan locked eyes with Greg.

"I care about your opinion, too, Greg. What's your opinion on a first date?"


	18. Second Chance

**Author's Note: It's been a while…I don't know about everyone else, but the series finale was quite disappointing for me. I had a long Tumblr rant about it and if you care to read my opinion further, you can go and read it if you like, but it's a month old. I won't rehash that stuff here. Suffice it to say that in spite of the finale, I will continue with this fic. This is taken from what I WISHED would have happened. The last Morganders moment we got in the series finale was the hug in the parking garage after they diffused the bomb with Catherine. Think of this scene as an extension of that.**

 ***XXXXXX***

Morgan stared at her hands as she sat in the locker room. Dalton Benton, the man responsible for the mayhem and carnage of the past several days, had been apprehended. She, Greg and Catherine had diffused the bombs in the parking garage at the apartment complex and now everyone had gone their own way.

D.B. was packing up his stuff in preparation to work with the FBI, Sara and Grissom were off doing whatever they did when they were together and Catherine had gone to spend the rest of her time in town with her daughter, Lindsay.

That left Morgan… here. Alone in the locker room, still staring at her shaking hands. She couldn't keep the images from running through her head. All those people in the apartments above them had gone about their nightly routine without even realizing how close they'd come….how close _she'd_ come….to death. All because of some crazy man with a vendetta against Grissom and Lady Heather decided to take it out on innocent people.

She didn't know how long she'd been sitting there, trying to avoid thoughts about her own mortality and what meaning her life had, if any at all, when she heard her name.

"Morgan?"

She looked up to see Greg standing there, a look of understanding in his eyes. She'd completely forgotten that he was still in the lab, if only for a brief moment. She'd been so grateful to survive the ordeal that she'd clung to him, sobbing desperately into his shoulder. It wasn't as though it was the first time she'd used Greg's shoulder to cry on, but this time had been different than the last time. This time…

"Greg…" She glanced down at her hands again, still shaking. She couldn't figure out how to stop it. She looked back up at him. He moved to sit next to her. She clasped her hands together, but it felt as though they continued to wobble, despite her efforts.

"I…" She didn't finish. Greg reached out and grabbed her shaking hands. As soon as his hands encircled hers, they stopped shaking. She gasped and looked up at him.

"Everyone else is heading out, doing their own thing. How about we do the same?" Greg asked. Morgan didn't want him to let go of her hands because she was afraid they would shake again.

"Greg…we came so close to dying." Morgan blurted, her voice choking up as she tried to avoid more tears.

"We did." He agreed softly.

"I mean… it's not like this was our first brush with death, but…it was different somehow." Morgan said. "What if Catherine had been wrong about the wire?"

"Then we wouldn't be here right now." Greg said quietly. She suddenly remembered who she was talking too. He told her about the lab explosion more than ten years ago. He knew better than anyone.

"Are you scared of death, Greg?" Morgan whispered. "I am."

He looked at her, his hands still covering hers. He squeezed them and smiled softly. "No, but that doesn't mean it's wrong for you to be scared. I have a different…view of things."

Morgan stared up into his eyes again. "I want to go with you." She breathed.

"Where?"

"Anywhere…anywhere but here. Please." Morgan said.

"I can do that."

~XXXXXX~

They ended up at a favorite bar of theirs, one they'd been to before when Greg was having his identity crisis after the rubber dolls case. It was the only place where Morgan felt she could completely forget about the questions plaguing her mind. Morgan ordered the first thing that sounded good and Greg ordered two tequila shots and a beer. As they drank, Morgan felt her hands stop shaking, without Greg's help. They took the tequila shots together.

Conversation turned away from serious subjects the more they drank. They ordered nachos and shared them. It was nice to reminisce about the past and talk about fonder memories they had while working together instead of worrying about what could have happened earlier that night.

Time ran away from them, and when the bar was closing, they both realized that they were too drunk to drive home, so Greg hailed a cab and they went to his place. Morgan stumbled along with Greg to his apartment, unable to climb the stairs. They used the elevator, even though his apartment was on the second floor.

"I haven't been this drunk since college." Morgan confessed to Greg.

"Yeah… I can't remember the last time I was this drunk." Greg admitted as the elevator door opened and they staggered to his apartment door. When Greg managed to get the door open, Morgan barely had a chance to look around.

The last thing she remembered was looking for a glass of water and some aspirin.

~XXXXXX~

Her head pounded and a horrible taste sat in her mouth. Morgan opened her eyes and realized she wasn't in her apartment. She struggled through her sluggish thoughts until the memories came back. She stared down at the bed she was in; it was comfortable and clean. _I'm in Greg's apartment._

Pushing her hair aside, she rolled over and saw Greg, sprawled out next to her, on his stomach and his face turned towards her. He was wearing a pair of gym shorts. She couldn't remember if anything had happened between them, but she was pretty sure they'd just fallen asleep.

She eased out of bed and went to the bathroom. She gargled with mouthwash and stepped into the shower, if only to clear her head and wake herself up. Greg must've woken up while she was still in the shower, because she could hear moving around as she scrubbed her hair. As she stood under the flow of warm water, her mind returned to the questions she'd been avoiding.

 _If I died, would it matter to anyone? Would I be remembered?_ She couldn't prevent herself from playing through a grim scenario in her head. Her funeral. Her mother and step-dad coming from Los Angeles. No matter what she said, her mother would find a way to blame her father for the whole thing. Maybe not at the funeral, but afterwards.

She dried off and got dressed, unable to stop the ideas now that they had their own momentum. Her step-sister would find a way to make herself the center of attention, despite it all. She opened the door to see Greg standing in his kitchen, frowning at whatever was in his pantry.

A glass of water and a row of different kinds of medicine sat on the counter. He glanced at her.

"Take your pick." She took the offered medicine and drank all of the water.

"I'm sorry for…"She began, looking around for the first time.

"Passing out on my bed? Don't be."

They were silent.

"Did we…do anything?" Morgan asked, trying to keep any feeling from her voice. She didn't want to sound hopeful, especially if Greg didn't feel anything in return.

He blinked slowly and then surprise lit up his features. "I…no, I don't think so. We were both too drunk." He sounded pretty confident.

"Oh." Morgan couldn't think of what else to say. Now it was awkward.

"I mean, I don't do that. Bring home drunk girls to have sex with, or…anything." Greg said, looking uncomfortable himself. Morgan smiled slowly.

"That just means you're a gentleman. I can appreciate that. Hey…do you want to go get breakfast? Maybe those cheeseburger donuts or whatever they are?" She asked. Greg smiled, too.

"That sounds…awful and perfect all at once."

"They have something called the Hangover Breakfast. Guaranteed to cure it or you get half off." Morgan explained.

"Sold! Let's go."

~XXXXXX~

Thirty minutes later they were both eating the Hangover breakfast. It consisted of a fried egg sandwich with sausage, bacon, cheese, some kind of sauce that neither one of them could identify, toast, donuts, coffee, juice and milk.

"This is perfect." Greg said, eating the last of his fried egg sandwich.

"I agree." Morgan said, downing her fourth cup of coffee.

"It's because you're here, not the food." Greg said. Morgan stopped eating to stare at him. His hair was still tousled, but it was endearing on him.

"Me?"

"Morgan…there's probably a better way to do this, but we just spent the better part of three days with one another, non-stop. It's made me realize something, especially considering what we were doing less than 24 hours ago." Greg said, talking a gulp of orange juice.

"What have you realized?"

"That I don't want to screw this up."

Morgan felt something, like a bubble of tension, rise in her chest. "Screw…what up?"

"Will you go out with me? Not as co-workers or friends, as… something that could lead to whatever you want it to lead to?" Morgan could picture herself with Greg easily. With all her other boyfriends, she'd struggled to picture how it would work in her head, especially with their strange schedules. The fact that she saw a lot of things on a daily basis that would freak out people not involved with law enforcement never helped her vision of the future.

Of course she'd liked him for a while, but she never knew how to bring it up, or if she should bring it up. What if he hadn't felt the same way? Or worse, what if he did, but didn't want to act on it? So she never said anything.

It was funny how everything could change so quickly when you get a long, hard look at your own mortality. Morgan hated that it took almost losing her life to stop and think about what she was doing with it, why and most importantly… how she could be happy while she did those things, whatever they were.

"I'm tired of not doing things because I'll be afraid of the consequences and I don't want to go one more hour without you knowing that I really do care about you. I'm not scared of death… I'm scared of what would happen if I let this chance slip by without acting on it." Greg said.

Tears filled her eyes. She took a sharp breath.

"Of course I will, Greg. I would love to go out with you…and to keep going out with you." She said. Greg slid around the booth and pulled her into a kiss. They didn't see the patrons grinning and admiring them. Instead, they focused on each other.


	19. Coffee

**Author's Note: Thank you for the reviews and follows! Here is another update…This is based off of a prompt submitted to OTP Prompts on Tumblr. The text of the actual prompt is posted below, but no specific user/person is associated with the prompt. I wanted to do a cute, short and sweet Christmas-y fluffy thing, so…**

 _ **Prompt: Imagine your OTP (not in a relationship yet) going into a coffee shop or restaurant and when they go back out there's a mistletoe hung above the door that the cashier points out. Person A protests and Person B just reaches up and kisses Person A, saying it's just a harmless tradition.**_

 **XXXXXXX**

Greg didn't usually go into coffee shops. He had his particular brand of coffee that he liked and he made it a specific way. It was probably the one thing about him that he consistently refused to change. Besides, most coffee shops had drinks that they claimed were 'coffee' but actually contained more milk and sugar than anything else. If he wanted sugary milk, he'd make his own sugary milk…but that was the point, wasn't it? He DIDN'T want sugary milk. He wanted COFFEE. It was easier to make it himself, the way he liked it. That way he didn't have to waste $5 on sugary milk that he didn't want in the first place.

This was different, though. Morgan swore that he would appreciate this place, which was off the beaten path and not part of a particular national chain known for its green siren logo. She knew that he was an admitted coffee snob, so if she was willing to make such promises, it had to be good. He trusted her judgement when it came to good coffee, so he was willing to go out on a limb and try out a new place.

He walked through the door and spotted Morgan right away, sitting in a corner table with a cup already in front of her. She smiled and waved him over. Greg pulled off his coat and draped it over the chair before sitting down with a smile.

"I see they serve coffee in actual mugs rather than paper cups. That's a plus." He said.

"Of course! I told you, this place is for coffee snobs such as yourself. I can't believe you didn't know about it already."

"Me either. I'm always on the lookout for out of the way places like this." Greg said, glancing around appreciatively. The coffee machine was a giant copper thing that looked as if it were made in Italy in the 1920s. It shot out steam and made a lot of rattling noises that Greg liked right away. A display of assorted pastries sat off to the right and the menu was posted above that.

"What did you order?" He asked curiously, peering into her cup.

"Oh, just the drip coffee. It's a house blend." She gave Greg her cup and he sniffed it curiously. It smelled like good quality coffee.

"Hmm." He considered her cup before returning it to her and studying the menu. He took a couple of minutes to order and waited patiently for them to brew the coffee fresh. He bought a croissant to go with it.

"So, how did you find this place, anyway?" Greg asked.

"By accident. A friend and I were looking for this particular food truck that sells Korean barbeque pork tacos and beer and we stumbled upon this place. We never found the food truck, but I ordered some coffee and it was probably the best I'd ever had aside from your secret stash of Blue Hawaiian at the office."

Greg laughed. "Korean barbeque pork tacos sound good."

Morgan smiled. "Well, maybe you can come with me the next time I go in search of that food truck then, because I still want some."

Just as Greg asked her what exactly went into Korean barbeque pork tacos, other than the obvious, Greg's order was ready at the counter. He picked up his cup and croissant and brought it back to the table. He split it with Morgan and she nibbled it while he took a small sip of his coffee.

"Yes, this is exactly what I wanted." Greg said with an excited grin on his face. Morgan was glad that she'd found a place that was good enough to meet his standards. Greg wasn't usually snobby about most things, but coffee was the one thing he was particular about. It was like with her and chocolate. She was very particular about the kind she liked.

They sat in companionable silence, eating the croissant and sipping their coffee until they finished.

"So, final judgements?" Morgan asked as they returned their mugs to the counter.

"I'd come back here and get coffee. If the cup I just had was any indication, I'd say they're doing it right." Greg said, picking up a flyer for a band that would be playing at the shop the next weekend. Morgan stared down at it.

"Hey, want to go see this?" Greg asked. Morgan smiled.

"Sure thing!" They started for the door when the cashier that had rung up their order called out to both of them.

"Hey, wait!" They both stopped at the door and turned to look at the girl, who was grinning. Her bright blue hair stuck up all over the place. She pointed above their heads. Greg and Morgan looked up at the same time to see mistletoe hanging above them.

"Uhh…" Greg glanced at the cashier uncertainly and then at Morgan, who appeared to be contemplating the mistletoe carefully.

"I don't know…"Greg started to say, but Morgan lowered her gaze from the mistletoe to him. She studied him a moment, reached her hands up and took his face in her hands, stood on her toes and planted her mouth firmly onto his. It was the best tasting kiss Greg could remember getting, at least recently.

Morgan lingered for a moment before pulling away slowly and staring up into his eyes. Greg could only stare back, speechless.

"It's a harmless tradition, Greg. Isn't it?" She smiled mysteriously and was out the door, leaving him to stare at the spot where she'd been standing, frozen in place. He blinked and looked up at the cashier who was smiling mischievously.

"You better go get her." She said knowledgeably.

"Yeah…" Greg raced out the door after Morgan. She hadn't gotten very far.

"Wait, Morgan…"

Morgan stopped and turned to look at him. Greg stopped in front of her. She gazed up at him expectantly, the smile still on her face. Greg took her face in his hands and returned the favor, without the excuse of the mistletoe hanging above them. When he pulled away, Morgan was smiling.

"Merry Christmas, Greg." She said quietly. He grinned.

"Merry Christmas, Morgan." He mumbled back, as they were lost in each other once again.


End file.
